COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The Defense Department says the remains of a U.S. serviceman missing in action in the Korean War have been identified and will be returned to his family in South Carolina.

The Pentagon announced Thursday that Capt. William K. Mauldin will be buried July 18 in Easley with full military honors.

The Pentagon's POW/MIA office says the remains of the one-time Pickens resident were identified using DNA.

The Pentagon says Mauldin departed Kimpo Air Base, South Korea, in February 1952 on a reconnaissance mission of enemy targets in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Mauldin's RF-51 Mustang was hit by enemy fire and crashed. An aerial search of the crash site found no evidence that Mauldin escaped before the crash.

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