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.
MIAs in incident; Mitchell, Bernard; Rountree, Fred Brinson
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)
Bernard Mitchell is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is noted as having died "while missing" by the National Archive.
03/13/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
On January 14, 1951, a B-26B Invader (tail number 44-34351A, call sign "Duncan 12") carrying a crew of three took off from Iwakuni Air Base, Japan, on an armed reconnaissance mission in the area between Pyongyang and Sinanju, North Korea. While making a pass over Pyongyang, the Invader was hit and damaged by hostile anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft went out of control and the crew was forced to bail out. The aircraft's navigator successfully parachuted from the aircraft before it went down, evaded capture, and returned to duty several weeks later. The other two members of the Invader's crew remain unaccounted for following the incident.
Staff Sergeant Bernard Mitchell, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Massachusetts, was a member of the 13th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Group, and was the gunner aboard this Invader when it went down. The surviving member of the aircraft's crew could not confirm if SSgt Mitchell bailed out of the aircraft before it crashed. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with SSgt Mitchell, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Staff Sergeant Mitchell 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.