North Korea releases RAF hero's remains 60 years after the pilot was shot down during a bombing run
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For almost 60 years, the body of a British pilot lay unmarked in a field in North Korea.
But yesterday, in a rare act of compassion, the dictatorship gave up the remains of Flight Lieutenant Desmond Hinton.
The 29-year-old, from New Malden, Surrey, had been shot down in 1952, fighting for the UN force in the Korean War.
The hand over: British Ambassador to North Korea Peter Hughes holds a case containing the remains thought to be of a British pilot shot down during the Korean War
Better late than never: North Korean People's Army Colonel Pak Gi Yong, left, sits next to the black case which is thought to contain the remains of Flt Lt Hinton
He was last seen crashing in a ball of flames close to what is now the North Korean capital Pyongyang. He left behind a widow and two small children.
The pilot had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1945 for shooting down two Japanese fighters over Burma.
And following the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 he was one of just 41 RAF officers seconded to the U.S. Air Force as part of Britain’s contribution to the UN force in support of South Korea.
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He survived his initial three-month tour of duty. But with replacements in short supply he volunteered for a second tour – and was shot down.
The remains will be tested to verify their identity. But the official hand-over marks the end of an 11-year crusade by his brother David, a retired RAF pilot, to locate his brother’s body. He said: ‘I have never stopped missing him.’
Shot down: Desmond Hinton, pictured front right with USAF pilots in Korea, is believed to have died while on a bombing run targeting railway infrastructure
Rest in peace: Flt Lt Hinton (left) died in 1952 and was originally buried near Pyongyang, North Korea