Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the Air Force, Washington, October 16, 1961 page 1. Sanitized copy. National Archives KOREAN Conflict Casualty File (KCCF) 1950-1954.
03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" -- is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been
held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War
but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27,
1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department
of Defense.
The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the
"sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the
archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were
repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese
radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and
all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still
lists them as "unaccounted for".
Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The
Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background.
Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA
Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United
States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published
information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
Milton Glessner Jr. is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is noted as having died "while missing" by the National Archive.
03/12/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
Colonel Milton Fager Glessner, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Pennsylvania, was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing. Mid-afternoon on February 2, 1951, he departed Chinhae Air Base, Korea, flying an F-51D Mustang (tail number 45-11427) as the flight leader in a flight of four. The briefed mission was armed reconnaissance operation along the road from Singye to Suan. The flight reached Suan without incident, however, on the return leg, Col Glessner's aircraft began to emit black smoke. He radioed to report he was having difficulty and was preparing to bail out. However, at an altitude of approximately 800 feet, he instead decided to attempt a crash landing in a nearby rice paddy. The Mustang was under full control and began what appeared to be a good landing, but soon hit a small dike, which turned the F-51 sideways. The Mustang then impacted a five-foot embankment, bounced over, and caught fire; an object, possibly the pilot, was thrown clear of the aircraft and landed about 100 feet away. The other aircraft on the mission made four passes over the area but saw no signs of life on the ground and could not positively identify the object thrown from the aircraft. The next day, an air search of the crash site revealed considerable damage to the F-51, but the cockpit appeared intact. However, there were no signs of Col Glessner or the object thrown from the aircraft, and Col Glessner was not seen again. No returning prisoners of war mentioned having contact with Col Glessner, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Colonel Glessner is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.
 Col MILTON FAGEN GLESSNER Jr.
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