The white marble headstone in Arlington National Cemetery memorializes Victor I. Gallerani, sergeant in the U.S. Army in Korea, recipient of a Purple Heart. 

But no one is in the grave below. 

The dates on the headstone are at least partly correct. Gallerani was indeed born on Jan. 10, 1931. Whether he died on Nov. 28, 1950, is a mystery his family has wanted to solve for decades. No trace of him ever came home. 

Gallerani’s family is one of thousands hoping the U.S. government will soon recover and identify the remains of their loved ones from North Korea, after wondering for decades what exactly happened on the long-ago battlefields of the Korean War.