More than 70 years after a Cayuga County soldier was killed in the Korean War, his remains have been identified.
Army Pvt. Donald Fabrize, 19, was killed during a battle on July 16, 1950, along Geum River near Daejeon, South Korea. He was serving with Company B, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.
Fabrize was the first soldier from Auburn to be killed in the Korean War, according to a Democrat & Chronicle story published in September 1950. In that story, it reveals that Fabrize’s mother, Stella Leone, “had mail returned marked ‘deceased’ for several days.” She contacted the Department of Defense, which notified her by telegram that her son died in combat.
Fabrize was awarded several medals for his service, including the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Korean Service Medal.
But his remains could not be located or recovered, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said. The Army announced in January 1956 that he was non-recoverable.
There was a set of remains given the name, “Unknown X-36 Taejon,” buried in the United Nations Military Cemetery in South Korea. The remains were examined, but designated unidentifiable. They were later moved, along with other unidentified remains, and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.