Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman is returning home.

On May 18, 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of U.S. Army Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman, missing from the Korean War.

Thurman entered the service from Illinois and served with Battery B, 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. In early September of 1950, the North Korean People's Army launched a concerted attack against U.N. defensive lines around Pusan Harbor. On Sept. 3, North Korean units pounded elements of the 6th Cavalry Regiment west of Taegu where the Naktong River crosses the road to Taejon with a lengthy mortar attack. That day, Thurman went missing in action while manning a forward observation post for the 6th Cavalry Regiment that came under heavy mortar fire near Taegu. The officer in charge of the post became shell shocked, and Thurman attempted to escort him back to friendly lines. The two soldiers were not seen again. On Oct. 23, 1952, the 565th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company recovered an unidentified set of remains, later designated X-5814, in Tanggok, near Kumhwa-dong, South Korea. The remains could not be identified at the time and were transported in 1956 to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, for interment. In November 2022, DPAA disinterred X-5814 as part of its project to identify Korean War unknowns from the cemetery and transferred the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. There, scientists used modern forensic techniques to identify Thurman.

He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

The Thurman family has entrusted the care of Campbell Funeral Home in Norris City, Illinois to complete the final steps in laying Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman to rest.

Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman will be escorted back to Norris City on Thursday, August 6 after his flight lands at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Updates on his journey home will be made throughout the day on the Campbell Funeral Home Facebook Page. The public is invited to honor Cpl. Thurman as he is brought home. The escort will leave St. Louis along Interstate 70 crossing into Illinois and traveling along Interstate 64 to exit 110 (US Highway 45 ) and travel south to Norris City.

Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman, of Norris City was reported missing in action on September 3, 1950 while fighting in the Korean War as a member of the US. Army. On December 31, 1953, Thurman was officially presumed deceased. Jackie was born on September 25, 1931 to Everett Thurman and Wilma (Willis) Joyner.

Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman is survived by a brother, Ronnie Thurman, of Norris City, as well as other family members. He is preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Donald Edward Thurman.

Graveside Funeral Services with Full Military Honors for Cpl. Jackie Lee Thurman, will be held on August 8, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at I.O.O.F. Cemetery near Norris City. Those wishing to pay their respects may do so from 8:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. at Campbell Funeral Home, 201 E. Main St., Norris City, IL 62869. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Norris City American Legion or any Veterans Organization and will be accepted at the funeral home or by mail to Campbell Funeral Home, 609 W. Main St., Carmi, IL 62821.