Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the AirForce, 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)
Joseph Ziegler 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
First Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Zeigler, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Illinois, served with the 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. On April 23, 1953, he was the pilot of an F-84 Thunderjet (serial number 51-865) that departed Kunsan airbase, South Korea, as the second in a flight of four aircraft on a road reconnaissance mission between Suan and Pyongyang, North Korea. During the mission, 1st Lt Zeigler's Thunderjet was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire at low altitude and caught fire, forcing him to bail out. Other pilots observed his parachute open and saw him land. He picked up the parachute, walked to a group of trees, and disappeared from sight. 1st Lt Zeigler attempted to contact the pilots in his flight using his radio but was unsuccessful. Search and rescue teams could neither locate or contact 1st Lt Zeigler. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with 1st Lt Zeigler, 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, First Lieutenant Zeigler 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.