Medford Soldier Missing For 70 Years Buried At Bourne Cemetery

MEDFORD, MA — A Medford soldier was buried in Bourne Cemetery Friday over 70 years after he was reported missing in action during the Korean War.

Army 1st Lt. Thomas J. Redgate, 24, was reported missing in action on Dec. 11, 1950 and was accounted for April 16, 2020.

Redgate's unit was attacked near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. His remains were not recovered after the battle.

On July 27, 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes purported to contain the remains of American service members.

Redgate was identified among them by DNA, anthropological and circumstantial evidence, the agency said.

Redgate was born in Medford in 1926 and grew up in Brighton, according to his obituary. He served in World War II as an airplane and engine mechanic and in Korea as a forward observer.

He was interned in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, Friday.