Lost in 1950, Korean War Soldier to be Laid to Rest in Illinois

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jack B. Baker, 19, killed during the Korean War, will be interred Aug. 8 at Fairview Park Cemetery in DeKalb, Illinois. Service and internment are being coordinated by Finch Funeral Home.

In 1950, Baker was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was reported missing in action Sept. 5, in the vicinity of Taegu, South Korea after his unit encountered enemy combatants. He was never reported as a prisoner of war and subsequent searches of the battlefield failed to recover his remains. Lacking evidence of continued survival, the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death of Dec. 31, 1953.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Baker on July 28, 2025.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Baker, please visit: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4337243/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-smith-l/

U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact Finch Funeral Home, 815-758-3841.