(COLORADO) — Sergeant Orace J. Mestas was declared missing on April 25, 1951, during the Korean War, and his remains were identified 74 years later, on January 31, 2025. Local veteran motorcycle organizations will escort his remains from the Denver International Airport (DIA) to Trinidad, where he will be buried with full military honors on Wednesday, June 18.

Mestas was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, and was reported missing in action near Chip’o-ri, North Korea, after his unit’s position was attacked. His remains could not be recovered at the time due to intense fighting in the area.

His remains were recovered several months later, along with the remains of three other people, but were not able to be positively identified. He was buried as unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu until his remains were sent for analysis in 2019.

Mestas’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

The “Dignified Honors Run” will meet at the Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson at 5867 North Nevada in Colorado Springs at 7 a.m. on June 18 before riding to DIA, where the flight carrying Mestas’s remains will arrive at 11:40 a.m. Riders will accompany the procession to Murphy Funeral Home in Trinidad.

For more information or to sign up for the ride, click the link above.