“HONOR THE DEAD BY HELPING THE LIVING”
Today, the DPAA is focused on the research, investigation,
recovery, and identification
of the approximately 34,000 (out of approximately 83,000 missing DoD personnel)
believed to be recoverable, who were lost in conflicts
from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
KHAMMOUANE, Laos --
With
1,586 service members missing in action from the Vietnam War, the Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) deploys hundreds of service members,
DoD civilians, and contractors all over the world in hopes of returning our
nation’s fallen heroes.
Recently a team of 59 personnel completed DPAA’s second Laos mission of fiscal
year 2017, covering the Central East region of Laos. From rice patties to
mountainsides,
the teams excavated thousands of square meters of land recovering important
evidence relating to missing servicemen lost during the war.
“I’m
very honored to have been part of this initiative to bring our missing home,”
said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Walgenbach,
recovery non-commissioned officer. “This mission has been the most unique part
of my 13 year career in the military and I know others feel the same way.”
Every
team member plays an important role in mission success. Whether that is the
recovery non-commissioned officer setting up the sites,
or the recovery leader collecting scientific data, working together ensures
nothing is overlooked and the safety of the team remains number one priority.
Due
to the efforts of the teams, Laos representatives handed over possible remains
to the U.S. to be repatriated and welcomed back on American soil after 48 years.
Upon arrival the possible remains will be transported to DPAA’s laboratory for
examination and possible identification.
“During this mission I have worked along side some of the greatest men and women
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting,
and being chosen for the repatriation ceremony was a perfect way to end such a
great mission,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Brod,
recovery non-commissioned officer. “It is truly an honor to be bringing closure
to the families of our fallen service members.”
The
hard work and continued dedication of these teams makes it possible for DPAA to
fulfill our nations promise and
provide fullest possible accounting for our missing service members to their
families and the nation.
U.S. Navy
Petty Officer 1st Class Ameil Fredeluces, edic, and U.S. Marine Corps. Staff
Sgt. Eddie Ludwig, explosive ordinance disposal technician,
remove dirt from units during excavation operations as part of the Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos,
Recovery Team Three executed excavation operations in
search of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots who crashed while on a visual
reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over 48 years ago. DPAA’s mission
is to provide the fullest possible accounting
for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.
Members of
the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency dig units during excavation operations as
part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s
mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos. Recovery Team Three
executed excavation operations in search of two missing
U.S. Air Force pilots who crashed while on a visual reconnaissance mission
during the Vietnam War over 48 years ago. DPAA’s mission is to provide the
fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the
nation.
Jack Kenkeo,
life support investigator, shovels dirt from the screening stations during
excavation operations as part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s
mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos. Recovery Team Three
executed excavation operations in search of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots
who crashed while on a visual reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over
48 years ago.
DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing
personnel to their families and the nation.
U.S. Army
Staff Sgt. Francis Sangiamvongse, linguist, screens soil with local villagers
during excavation operations as part of the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency’s mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos.
Recovery Team Three executed excavation operations in search
of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots who crashed while on a visual
reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over 48 years ago.
DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing
personnel to their families and the nation.
Lynn Rakos,
scientific recovery expert, waters hard soil to help with excavation operations
as part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s mission
in the Khammovan Province, Laos. Recovery Team three executed
excavation operations in search of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots
who crashed while on a visual reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over
48 years ago.
DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing
personnel to their families and the nation.
Making the effort to thank the troops for what they do out in the field
means everything.
With a DPAA recovery team in Quang Nam Province, two hours west of Da Nang,
Vietnam.
The UW-Madison
story involved
a group of six students and staff members who were part of a team that unearthed
a World War II U.S. fighter aircraft—
and possibly remains of its pilot—in the ground under a farm field in France
this summer.
The team used ground-penetrating radar and a photo taken by a
British reconnaissance plane two days after the May, 1944
crash of the P-47 Thunderbolt flown by 1st Lt. Frank Fazekas.
Search underway for Lakewood, Ohio airman of World War II
Search underway for Lakewood, Ohio airman of World War II.
Divers of the U.S. Defense
POW/MIA
Accounting Agency and Civil Defense of Grado, Italy,
prepare for an exploratory dive on the sunken B-24 bomber.
This B-24 Liberator is the same type of airplane that
Lakewood, Ohio airman Thomas McGraw was flying in when it was shot down and
crashed off the coast of Italy during World War II.
A Missing Air Crew Report details the last flight of the B-24 and nose gunner
Thomas McGraw of Lakewood, Ohio.
B-24 located in Adriatic; Crewmanis bones sought Ught Lakewood Manis remains
crewman Omber crew,am2-2k-28 bold Header from A1.
A skull fragment was recovered at the site of a wrecked B-24 bomber
off the coast of Italy that may contain the remains of
Thomas McGraw,
of Lakewood, Ohio.
An underwater view of the crash site of a B-24 off Grado, Italy.
FINDING ENSIGN HAROLD P. DeMOSS IN THE MUCK AND MIRE
“Seeing
those photos was so overwhelming that I cried like a baby”
said DeMoss’ niece, Judy Ivey. “To see this actually taking place
is not anything I ever really expected.”
Anine-person military team
has been digging up mud four days a week
in the Koolau range in search of a missing World War II pilot whose
fighter crashed in cloud cover during a night training flight.
A bucket-and-pulley system
was set up to move excavated
material to a spot where it can be bundled in tarps for
helicopter transport to Wheeler Army Airfield.
NOTE: The Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery said in a 1948 letter
to the family that “an attempt to recover the remains was
considered impracticable” because the site was 7 miles
from a traveled highway in the mountains.
On Feb. 25, 1944, Duran wasn’t supposed to be on the doomed B-24H
Liberator, nicknamed “Knock it Off.”
Normally a nose turret gunner, Duran was the substitute tail turret gunner on
the flight, replacing the usual tail gunner who had frostbite.
The earth by the headstone next to the church in this tiny mountain village was full of rocks.
Two days of digging under a hot sun had yielded buckets of
gravel, stones the size of men’s fists and many piles of dirt – but no bones.
After 73 years, Sgt. Alfonso O. Duran was still missing.
The family feels a sense of closure regardless of the outcome,
Duran said.
“What a difference it would have made to my father and to my aunt,”
she said, “to know he had died and somebody had buried him and tended the
grave.”
Members of
the recovery team attach a POW flag to the wreckage of the
Tulsamerican, a B-24 Liberator piloted by, Lt. Eugene P. Ford, a Derry Township,
Pa. native,
when it crashed into the Adriatic Sea in 1944.
FIELD OPERATIONS IN LAOS AND CAMBODIA, JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 2020
US Ambassador to
Cambodia Patrick Murphy,
prepares to screen dirt during a DPAA recovery mission in Ratanakiri Province,
Cambodia, February 1, 2020.
Mr. Alexander
Garcia-Putnam, right, a senior recovery expert assigned to DPAA,
speaks to US service members and Lao officials during a joint field activity
(JFA) in Khammouan Province, Laos, February 2, 2020
SG Carter Caraker,
USA, a DPAA supply non-commissioned officer,
passes buckets to local workers during a JFA in Khammouan Province, Laos,
February 10, 2020.
During the JFA, a group of more than 70 personnel, assigned to DPAA and
augmented from military units around the globe,
worked together to help fulfill our nation's promise to provide the fullest
possible accounting of our missing personnel.
2021 Recoveries
Underwater Recovery Mission - Vietnam:
U.S. Coast Guard underwater recovery mission in
Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, May 27 2021.
Vietnam Recovery Mission:
U.S. Army DPAA recovery team member, swings a pick axe to loosen dirt during
a recovery mission in Quang Binh province, Vietnam, July 3, 2021.
Vietnam Repatriation Ceremony:
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Detachment 2 and the Vietnam Office for
Seeking
Missing Persons (VNOSMP) held the 155th Repatriation
Ceremony on 9 July 2021 at Gia Lam Airport outside Hanoi, Vietnam.
Repatriation Ceremony – Laos:
Detachment Three-Laos, pause for a photo during the signing of remains turnover
documents
at a Repatriation Ceremony June 22, 2021 in Vientiane, Laos.
Honorable Carry from Laos:
DPAA members conducted an Honorable Carry ceremony on Joint Base Pearl Harbor
Hickam, June 23, 2021.
The remains were recently repatriated to the U.S. during a ceremony in
Vientiane, Laos.
USS Arizona was
a Pennsylvania-class battleship built
for and by the United
States Navy in
the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th
state's
recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class
of "super-dreadnought"
battleships. Although commissioned in
1916, the ship remained stateside during World
War I.
Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was
one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow
Wilson to
the Paris
Peace Conference.
The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish
War to
represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was
transferred to the Pacific
Fleet and
remained there for the rest of her career.
Aside from a comprehensive modernization in 1929–31, Arizona was
regularly used for training exercises between the wars, including the annual Fleet
Problems
(training exercises). When an earthquake struck
Long Beach, California,
in 1933, Arizona's
crew provided aid to the survivors. Two years later, the ship was featured in a Jimmy
Cagney film, Here
Comes the Navy,
about the romantic troubles of a sailor. In April 1940, she and the rest of the
Pacific Fleet were transferred from California to Pearl
Harbor,
Hawaii, as a deterrent to Japanese
imperialism.
During the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor on
7 December 1941, Arizona was
bombed. After a bomb detonated in a powder magazine, the battleship exploded
violently and sank, killing 1,177 officers and crewmen. Unlike many of the other
ships sunk or damaged that day, Arizona was
irreparably damaged by the force of the magazine explosion, though the Navy
removed parts of the ship for reuse. The wreck still
lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial,
dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, straddles the
ship's hull.
A number of other boats were sunk in the attack, but later
recovered and repaired.
The USS California (BB-44)
lost 100 crew members that morning, after the ship suffered extensive flooding
damage when hit by two torpedoes on the port side.
Both torpedoes detonated below the armor belt causing virtually identical damage
each time.
A 250 kg bomb also entered the starboard upper deck level, which passed through
the main deck and exploded on the armored second deck,
setting off an anti-aircraft ammunition magazine and killing about 50 men.
After three days of flooding, the California settled
into the mud with only her superstructure remaining above the surface.
She was later re-floated and dry-docked at Pearl Harbor for repairs. USS California served
many missions throughout the war,
and was eventually decommissioned in February, 1947.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese bombs fell and
torpedoes slashed through the waters of Pearl Harbor,
causing a devastating amount of damage to the vessels lined up in Battleship Row
in in the dry docks nearby.
Each of the seven battleships moored there suffered some degree of damage, some
far worse than others.
The USS Arizona (BB-39)
and the USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
were completely destroyed. Though the Maryland (BB-46)
was believed by Japan to also have been sunk, she ultimately survived and became
one of the first ships to return to the war.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, ships like the USS Cassin (DD-372),
a Mahan-class
destroyer, suffered what was originally thought to be fatal damage.
While she was extensively damaged during the attack, she was resurrected and
went on to return to service during the remainder of World War II.
The sunken battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) at Pearl Harbor after her fires
were out, possibly on 8 December 1941.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) is inboard. A Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplane (marked
“4-O-3”) is upside down on West Virginia’s main deck.
A second OS2U is partially burned out atop the Turret No. 3 catapult.
In the aftermath of the attacks on Pearl Harbor during World War Two stories emerged of sailors who were trapped in the sunken battleships, some even survived for weeks.
Those who were trapped underwater banged continuously on the side of the ship so
that anyone would hear them and come to their rescue.
When the noises were first heard many thought it was just loose wreckage or part
of the clean-up operation for the destroyed harbor.
However the day after the attack, crewmen realized that there was an eerie banging noise coming from the forward hull of the USS West Virginia, which had sunk in the harbor.
t didn’t take long for the crew and Marines based at the harbor to realize that
there was nothing they could do. They could not get to these trapped sailors in
time.
Months later rescue and salvage men who raised the USS West Virginia found the
bodies of three men who had found an airlock in a storeroom but had eventually
run out of air.
Survivors say that no one wanted to go on guard duty anywhere near the USS West
Virginia since they would hear the banging of trapped survivors all night long,
but with nothing that could be done.
When salvage crews raised the battleship West Virginia six months after the
Pearl Harbor attacks,
they found the bodies of three sailors huddled in an airtight storeroom —
and a calendar on which 16 days had been crossed off in
red pencil.
The USS Oklahoma was on Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. That was the morning that the Japanese Empire attacked the United States by surprise.
The Japanese
used dive–bombers, fighter–bombers, and torpedo planes to sink nine ships,
including five battleships, and severely damage 21 ships.
There were 2,402 US deaths from the attack. 1,177 of
those deaths were from the USS Arizona,
while 429 of the deaths were from the USS Oklahoma.
The crew of the USS Oklahoma did everything they could to fight back. In the first ten minutes of the battle, though, eight torpedoes hit the Oklahoma, and she began to capsize. A ninth torpedo would hit her as she sunk in the mud. 14 Marines, and 415 sailors would give their lives. 32 men were cut out through the hull while the others were beneath the waterline. Banging could be heard for over 3 days and then there was silence.
After the battle, the Navy decided that they could not salvage the Oklahoma due to how much damage she had received. The difficult savage job began in March 1943, and Oklahoma entered dry dock 28 December. Decommissioning September 1, 1944, Oklahoma was stripped of guns and superstructure, and sold December 5, 1946 to Moore Drydock Co., Oakland, Calif. Oklahoma parted her tow line and sank May 17, 1947. 540 miles out, bound from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco. Today, there is a memorial to the USS Oklahoma and the 429 sailors and marines lost on December 7, 1941, located on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The minelayer Oglala technically
didn't suffer a hit on December 7, but a torpedo passed under it and hit the USS
Helena.
The blast from that crippled the old Oglala which
had been built as a civilian vessel in 1906.
The crewmembers took their guns to the Navy Yard Dock and set them up to provide
more defenses.
They also set up a first aid station that saved the lives of West Virginia
crewmembers.
The ship suffered horribly, eventually capsizing and sinking
until just a few feet of the ship's starboard side remained above water.
It was declared lost, and the Navy even considered blowing it up with dynamite
to clear the dock it had sunk next to.
But the decision was made that it could destroy the dock, so the Navy had to
refloat it. At that point, it made sense to dry dock and repair it.
None of the crew of Oglala were killed in the attack, although three received injuries.
Sean Patterson, Armed Forces Medical Examiner System Department
of Defense DNA Quality Management Section DNA Analyst,
replaces U. S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Billy James Johnson's picture background,
signifying him as an identified service member who was previously missing in
action.
Johnson marks the 200th service member to be identified following the December
7, 1941 Pearl Harbor
attack where 429 U.S. Sailors and Marines were killed on the USS Oklahoma
(BB-37).
A
series of large posters hang in the conference room of the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency laboratory located at Offutt Air Base, Nebraska.
The heading on each of the posters states “USS OKLAHOMA.” Underneath the
headings are neat rows of printed rectangular frames.
Each one represents a person who was unaccounted for when the USS Oklahoma was
sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Thanks
to the work of Dr. Brown’s team, the remains of 200 previously unknown crewmen
from the USS Oklahoma
have now been returned to their families for proper burial and their families
have those long-awaited answers.
The story of the USS Oklahoma’s lost crewmen is
an evolving history lesson that began on what
President Franklin D. Roosevelt called
“a date that will live in infamy.”
LIST OF USS OKLAHOMA IDENTIFICATIONS FROM MICHIGAN:
(Please note that in some USS Oklahoma identifications,
the primary next of kin has yet to be notified,
and therefore the names will not be released at this time.)
Seaman Second Class Warren P. Hickok of Kalamazoo, Mich.
Staff Sgt. Joseph M. King, of Detroit, Mich.
Fireman Third Class Gerald G. Lehman, of Hancock, Mich.
Machinist Mate First Class Fred M. Jones, 30 of Port Huron, Michigan
Navy Fireman 2nd Class Lowell E. Valley, 19, of Ontonagon, Michigan,
Navy Seaman 1st Class Robert W. Headington, 19, Bay City, Michigan
Navy Seaman 2nd Class John C. Auld, 23, Grosse Park, Michigan,
Navy Ensign William M. Finnegan, 44, of Bessemer, Michigan,
Navy Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Fred M. Jones, 31, of Otter Lake, Michigan,
Navy Seaman 1st Class Robert W. Headington, 19, of Bay City, Michigan,
Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward Wasielewski, Plymouth, MI
U.S. Naval Reserve Ensign Frances
C. Flaherty, 22, of
Navy Seaman 1st Class Joe R. Nightingale, 20, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward Wasielewski, 21, of Detroit,
U.S. Naval Reserve Ensign Francis C. Flaherty, 22, of Charlotte, Michigan,
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Raymond D. Boynton, 19, Grand Rapids, MI
Navy Seaman 1st Class Wilbur F. Ballance, 20, Paw Paw, Michigan
It is through this effort that the accounting community
has been able to honor the sacrifices of the USS Oklahoma Sailors and Marines
and their families who pushed for the fullest possible accounting of their loved
ones.
Ford Island
is seen in this aerial view during the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor December
7, 1941 in Hawaii.
(The photo was taken from a Japanese plane.)
Remember
the fallen: In all, 429 people on board the
battleship were killed in the attack.
Only 35 were identified in the years immediately after.
Battleship
USS Oklahoma unturned hull at the bottom of Pearl Harbor
after the devastating Japanese bombing attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
Breakdown by War - Still Unaccounted for/Unreturned Veterans:
WW I 3,343
WW II 72,784
Korea 7,676
Vietnam 1,584
Cold War 126
Gulf/Other 6
Total 85,519
*As of June 2021
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
WWII
from MICHIGAN - 2450
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
Korea
from MICHIGAN - 331
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
Cold War
from MICHIGAN - 4
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
Viet Nam
from MICHIGAN - 48
RECENTLY
FOUND
HEROES in 2021
Soldier
U.S. Army Pvt. Robert J. Herynk, 27, of
Hanover, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the fall of 1942, Herynk was assigned to K Company, 3rd
Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. His unit was part of
the effort to cut off the Japanese supply and communications line coming from
their beachhead at Sanananda Village, Territory of Papua, on the island of New
Guinea. K Company attempted to work their way behind enemy lines, and, on Nov.
26, was part of a coordinated attack against Japanese defenses that would lead
to the Huggins Roadblock being established a few days later.
Herynk was listed as killed in action on the earliest casualty
reports and was reported to have been buried near Buna, New Guinea.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service, the
organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel,
conducted exhaustive searches of battle areas and crash sites in New Guinea,
concluding their search in late 1948. Investigators could not find any evidence
of Herynk. He was declared non-recoverable Dec. 19, 1949.
In March 1943, remains of an unidentified U.S. Soldier were
recovered near the Soputa-Sanananda Track, but had no visible means of
identification. Those remains were buried at a temporary cemetery in Sanananda.
They were later disinterred and moved three times until being designated Unknown
X-1547 Manila Mausoleum and buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
in the Philippines on Jan. 18, 1950.
Between 1995 and 2012, DPAA predecessor organizations recovered
four men from the Huggins Roadblock area, but found no trace of Herynk. DPAA
historians and anthropologists later conducted a multidisciplinary review of
Unknown and casualty files, and recommended disinterment of the Unknowns
associated with the campaign to neutralize Japanese positions at Buna and
Sanananda. X-1547 was disinterred in January 2017 and sent to the DPAA
Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and analysis.
Herynk’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission
site in the Philippines, along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Herynk will be buried Nov. 11, 2021, in his hometown.
Soldier
Army Sgt. Howard R. Belden, 19,
In late 1950, Belden was a member of Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
Belding was buried at Sand Hill Cemetery Palermo, Waldo County, Maine.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Walter C. Stein,
20, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Stein was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Stein.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Stein.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Stein’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR)
analysis.
Stein’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Stein will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington,
Virginia, on March 23, 2022.
Navy Fireman 1st Class James O.
McDonald, 25, of Levelland, Texas, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, McDonald was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including McDonald.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including McDonald.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify McDonald’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
McDonald’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
McDonald will be buried at the NMCP in Honolulu on Jan. 19, 2022.
Navy Mess Attendant 1st Class Octavius
Mabine, 21, of Portsmouth, Virginia, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Mabine was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Mabine.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Mabine.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
¬
To identify Mabine’s remains, scientists from DPAA
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR)
analysis.
Mabine’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Mabine will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be decided.
Navy Ship’s Cook 1st Class Rodger C.
Butts, 47, of Portsmouth, Virginia, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Butts was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Butts.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Butts.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Butts’ remains, scientists from DPAA dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Butts’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Butts will be buried in Newtown, Pennsylvania. The date has yet
to be determined.
Navy Fireman 2nd Class Hal J. Allison, 21, Paducah, Ky. killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Allison was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Allison.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Navy Fireman 2nd Class Edward E. Casinger, 21, Manhattan Kansas killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Casinger was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Casinger.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Army Pvt. Emmet W. Schwartz, 24, of
Dover, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In December 1944, Schwartz was assigned to Company F, 2nd
Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. His unit was part of
an effort to capture Obermaubach, Germany, near the town of Hürtgen, when he was
reported killed in action by an artillery blast on Dec. 27. His body was unable
to be recovered.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American
personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area
between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Schwartz’s
remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a
DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated
X-7173 St. Avold, originally recovered from a foxhole near Obermaubach by the
AGRC in 1946, possibly belonged to Schwartz. The remains, which had been buried
in Rhône American Cemetery in Draguignan, France, were disinterred in June 2019
and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for
examination and identification.
To identify Schwartz’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Schwartz’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at
Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Margraten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Schwartz will be buried Nov. 18, 2021, in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
Army Cpl. Robert C. Agard, Jr., 19, of
Buffalo, New York, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In July 1950, Agard was a member of 2nd Platoon, 24th
Reconnaissance Company, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in
action on July 19 while conducting a night recon patrol with his unit near
Taejon, South Korea. He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that
could be identified as Agard. He was declared non-recoverable in January 1956.
A set of remains, designated Unknown X-311 Taejon, was found near
Daebyeol-dong, a village near Taejon, along with the remains of two members of
Agard’s unit, in December 1950. However, X-311 could not be identified. The
remains were later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains
and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also
known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In July 2018, DPAA historians and anthropologists proposed a plan
to disinter and identify the 652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl,
including 53 recovered from the Taejon area. X-311 was disinterred June 10,
2019, as part of the Korean War Identification Project, and transferred to the
DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
To identify Agard’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) analysis.
Agard’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.
Agard will be buried May 30, 2022, in Elmira, New York.
Soldier
Army Staff Sgt. William R. Linder, 30,
of Piedmont, South Carolina, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In late 1944, Linder was assigned to Company E, 12th Infantry
Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest
offensive, near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported missing in action on Nov.
16. German forces never listed him as a prisoner of war. The War Department
issued a presumptive finding of death on Nov. 17, 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American
personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area
between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Linder’s remains.
He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a
DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated
X-5431 Neuville, originally discovered by local residents shortly after a forest
fire swept through the area in 1947, possibly belonged to Linder. The remains,
which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, were disinterred in April
2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for
examination and identification.
To identify Linder’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Linder’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Henri-Chapelle,
Belgium, along with the others still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Linder will be buried Oct. 29, 2021, in Anderson, South Carolina.
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Alan E.
Petersen, 23, of Brownton, Minnesota, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, Petersen was assigned to the 345th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On
Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Petersen was serving as a
bombardier crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation
TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at
Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following
the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the
Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova,
Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC),
the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel,
disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification.
The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and
those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated
with unaccounted for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were
sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination
and identification.
Petersen’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the
Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Impruneta, Italy,
along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Petersen will be buried Oct. 30, 2021, in Glencoe, Minnesota.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Pete Turk, 20, Cherokee County, Kansas killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Turk was assigned to the battleship USS
California, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 104 crewmen, including Turk.
Pete Turk is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Charles L.
Saunders, 18, of Winnie, Texas, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Saunders was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Saunders.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Saunders.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Saunders’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Saunders will be buried Dec. 7, 2021, in his hometown.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Billy Turner, 20, Ardmore, Oklahoma killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Turner was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Turner.
Billy Turner is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Navy Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Harold
F. Carney, 23, of New Diggings, Wisconsin, killed during World War
II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Carney was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Carney.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Carney.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Carney’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Carney will be buried Nov. 6, 2021, in Benton, Wisconsin.
U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Francis W.
Wiemerslage, 20, of River Grove, Illinois, killed during World War
II, was accounted for.
In March 1945, Wiemerslage was assigned to the 549th Bombardment
Squadron, 385th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, serving in Germany. He was the
ball turret gunner on a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during a bombing mission
over Dresden, on March 2. Enemy fighters attacked the bomber between Berlin and
Leipzig, and the plane was shot down. Two of the nine crew members survived the
incident, while the rest, including Wiemerslage, were killed. Seven men were
reportedly recovered from the wreckage and buried near Züllsdorf. After the war
ended, there was no evidence of Wiemerslage being a prisoner of war or having
survived, so a Finding of Death was issued a year after the crash.
The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with
recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater
following the war. During a series of investigations of the Züllsdorf area
between 1947 and 1949, the remains of all of the airmen who died in the B-17
crash, except for Wiemerslage, were found and identified. After 1950, worsening
diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, who controlled this part of Germany
at the time, prevented the AGRC from investigating further. In November 1953,
two German citizens conducted another search of the area on behalf of the AGRC,
finding some bones, including the jaw with some teeth, and part of a wallet.
However, it does not appear any further evidence was found. Wiermerslage’s
records from the time indicate the dental record was favorable and the wallet
bore the initials “F.W.” In March 1954, the remains were interred, to be held
until the recovery of additional remains could be completed.
In June 2019, DPAA contracted Western Carolina University to
excavate several possible locations around the area of Züllsdorf where the
remains and wallet were found in the 1950s. Possible osseous material and
possible material evidence was found and initially transferred to the
Brandenburg Institute for Forensic Medicine before being sent to the DPAA
Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for scientific analysis.
Wiemerslage’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at
the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission
site in Hombourg, Belgium,
along with the others still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Wiemerslage will be buried in his hometown on Oct. 23, 2021.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Joseph M. Robertson, 18, Covington, Ky killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Robertson was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Robertson.
Army Cpl. Marvin D. Actkinson, 18, Brownfield, Terry, Texas, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Actkinson was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion,
32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
Pilot
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Gabriel J.
Eggud, 25, of New York, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In the summer of 1944, Eggud was a pilot assigned to the 110th
Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter), 71st Reconnaissance Group. On July 6, he was
piloting a P-39 Airacobra fighter on a combat mission over Wewak, New Guinea,
when a released bomb exploded and destroyed his aircraft. Efforts to recover
Eggud’s remains were unsuccessful.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service, the
organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel,
conducted exhaustive searches of battle areas and crash sites in New Guinea,
concluding their search in late 1948. Investigators could not find any evidence
of Eggud or his aircraft. He was declared non-recoverable Sept. 20, 1949.
Between 2001 and 2019, DPAA and its predecessor organizations
conducted several investigation and recovery missions in near Wewak, Papua New
Guinea. A recovery team in 2019 found possible human remains, possible material
evidence, possible life-support equipment, and diagnostic and non-diagnostic
aircraft wreckage including cockpit plexiglass, a rudder pedal, a cockpit door
handle, a brake control unit, and instrument panel components. At the end of
Sept. 2019, all evidence was sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for identification.
Eggud’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission
site in the Philippines,
along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Eggud will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington,
Virginia. The date has yet to be decided.
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Jack K.
Wood, 24, of Wichita Falls, Texas, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, Wood was assigned to the 344th Bombardment
Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1,
1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Wood was serving as a navigator
crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the
largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north
of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following mission.
Remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section
of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC),
the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel,
disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification.
The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and
those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated
with unaccounted for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses.
Wood’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the
Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Impruneta, Italy,
along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Wood will be buried Oct. 23, 2021, in Madill, Oklahoma.
Navy Fireman 1st Class Denis H. Hiskett,
20, of Nebraska City, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Hiskett was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Hiskett.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Hiskett.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Hiskett’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Hiskett will be buried on Dec. 11, 2021, in Mission Hills,
California.
U.S. Army Pvt. Robert J. Herynk, 27, Washington County, Kansas killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the fall of 1942, Herynk was assigned to the K Company, 3rd
Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division.
His unit was part of the effort to cut off the Japanese supply and communications line coming from their beachhead at Sanananda Village, Territory of Papua, on the island of New Guinea.
K Company attempted to work their way behind enemy lines, and, on
Nov. 26, was part of a coordinated attack against Japanese defenses
that would lead to the Huggins Roadblock being established a few days later.
Herynk was listed as killed in action on the earliest casualty reports and was reported to have been buried near Buna, New Guinea.
Robert J Herynk is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.
Airmen
U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Richard G. Salsbury, 19, Canaan, Somerset County, Maine killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, Salsbury was assigned to the 345th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force.
On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Salsbury was serving as a gunner crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.
His remains were not identified following the war.
The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Keefe
R. Connolly, 19, of Markesan, Wisconsin, killed during World War II,
was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Connolly was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Connolly.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Connolly.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Connolly’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Connolly will be buried Nov. 8, 2021, in his hometown.
Army Pvt. Archie V. Fleeman, 19, Choctaw, Contra Costa County, California killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In late 1944, Fleeman was assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd
Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive, near Hürtgen, Germany, where
he was serving as a stretcher bearer for wounded troops.
He was reported missing in action on Nov. 11. German forces never listed him as a prisoner of war.
The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on Nov. 12, 1945.
Archie Vern Fleeman is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.
Army Pfc. Don D. Dowler, Jr., 18, San Joaquin County, California killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Dowler was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion,
32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
Don D Dowler Jr Don is remembered at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, and is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
Navy Fireman 1st Class James O. McDonald, 25, from Texas was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, McDonald was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including McDonald.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Laverne A. Nigg, 23, Roberts County, South Dakota killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Nigg was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Nigg.
Laverne Alious Nigg is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
U.S. Army 1st Lt. James E. Wright, 25,
of Parkton, North Carolina, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In September 1944, Wright was assigned to Company F, 2nd
Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. They were part of Lt.
Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army and had been fighting across France that
summer before being stopped by fierce German opposition at the Moselle River
near Dornot. On the morning of Sept. 8, Wright’s unit was part of a larger force
ordered to cross the river and take up a position in the woods on the east side.
They dug their defensive positions in a curved line at the edge of the forest
they called Horseshoe Woods. The force held their position against a relentless
German attack, taking heavy losses, until Sept. 10, when another crossing of the
Moselle was made. Only then were they allowed to retreat. That night and into
the morning of Sept. 11 most of the Soldiers were able to retreat across the
river, though some officers stayed behind to search the woods for the wounded or
missing before recrossing the river.
Wright was among the Soldiers reported missing that night. His
body was unable to be recovered because of the fighting and German presence on
east side of the river.
The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with
recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater
following the war. Although some unknown remains were found in and around
Horseshoe Woods, none were associated with Wright. AGRC continued operations
along the banks of the Moselle until 1951. At that point, Wright was declared
non-recoverable.
In 2012, a private researcher for the 7th Armored Division
Association suggested one of the unknowns recovered from the Horseshoe Woods,
known as X-46 Hamm and buried in Luxembourg American Cemetery, an American
Battle Monuments Commission site in Hamm, Luxembourg, could be a match to a
Soldier from Wright’s unit or the 7th Armored Division. After extensive research
and record comparison by DPAA historians and analysts, X-46 was disinterred in
May 2016 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for
identification.
Wright’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St.
Avold, France, along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Wright will be buried Oct. 12, 2021, in Lumber Bridge, North
Carolina.
Army Pvt. Donald A. Fabrize,
17, of Cayuga, New York,
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In July 1950, Fabrize was a member of Company B, 19th Infantry
Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on July 16
during battle defending, then withdrawing from, positions along the Kum River in
South Korea. His remains could not be immediately located or recovered. The Army
deemed Fabrize non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.
A set of remains, designated Unknown X-36 Taejon, buried in the
United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) at Taejon, in the vicinity of the Kum
River, sometime between July and September 1950 was repeatedly examined during
and just after the war to attempt an identification, but ultimately was
designated unidentifiable. The remains were later transported with all of the
unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In July 2018, DPAA historians and anthropologists proposed a plan
to disinter and identify the 652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl,
including 53 recovered from the UNMC Taejon and Taejon area. X-36 was
disinterred July 16, 2019, as part of the Korean War Identification Project, and
transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
To identify Fabrize’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental,
anthropological, and chest radiograph analysis, as well as circumstantial
evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Fabrize’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.
Fabrize will be buried in May 2022 at Arlington National Cemetery
in Arlington, Virginia.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Buford H. Dyer, 19, Tennessee, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Dyer was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Dyer.
Buford Harvey Dyer is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Navy Fireman 2nd Class Benjiman C. Terhune, 19, Chariton County, Missouri killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Terhune was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Terhune.
Benjamin C Terhune is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing, Court 2 Honolulu Memorial National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Honolulu, Hawaii.
Army 1st Lt. Anthony R. Mazzulla, 26, of
the Bronx, New York, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Mazzulla was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion,
32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action
on Dec. 2, 1950, after a fighting withdrawal near the Chosin Reservoir, North
Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Mazzulla’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Mazzulla’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Mazzulla will be buried in Cranston, Rhode Island. The date has
yet to be determined.
Army Sgt. Stanley L. DeWitt, 18, of
Royal City, Indiana, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, DeWitt was a member of Medical Detachment, 57th
Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in
action on Dec. 6, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the
Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be
recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify DeWitt’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) analysis.
DeWitt’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
DeWitt will be buried
in his hometown of Royal Center, Indiana,The
date has yet to be determined.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Joe R. Nightingale,
20, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Nightingale was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Nightingale.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Nightingale.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Nightingale remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces
Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Nightingale’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at
the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Nightingale will be buried Dec. 7, 2021, at
Ft. Custer National Cemetery,
in Augusta, Michigan.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Wesley E. Graham, 21,
of Watervliet, Michigan, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Graham was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Graham.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Graham.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Graham’s remains, scientists from DPAA
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR)
analysis.
Graham’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Graham will be
buried 1:00 p.m. Wednesday,
October 27 at Ft. Custer National Cemetery in August, MI,
in Augusta, Michigan.
September 2,
Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Pellerito, 22, Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan killed during World War II, was accounted for.
Born June 1, 1921, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Andrew Pellerito
was one of eleven children blessed to the union of Sicilian immigrants,
Salvatore and Rosolia "Rosalie" (Madonia) Pellerito.
He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on January 15, 1942 in Detroit.
Pellerito was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island.
Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated.
His remains were reportedly buried in Cemetery 33.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class John G. Bock, Jr., 18, Lancaster County, Nebraska killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Bock was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Bock.
John George Bock Jr is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
September 1,
U.S. Army Pvt. Stephen C. Mason, 21, of
Jersey City, New Jersey, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In the fall of 1944, Mason was assigned to Headquarters Co.,
505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was reported
missing in action during Operation MARKET GARDEN after his patrol failed to
return from a mission to the enemy lines near Beek, Netherlands on Nov. 3. His
body was unable to be recovered. Mason posthumously received the Silver Star for
his actions.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC),
the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel,
conducted several searches of the area, but by 1950, none of the remains found
around Beek could be identified as Mason. He was declared non-recoverable in
January 1951.
In 2015, DPAA historians began working on a comprehensive
research and recovery project focused on those missing from Operation MARKET
GARDEN. During that work, they analyzed information about X-3323 Neuville, an
unknown set of remains recovered from the Beek area in 1946 and buried in the
Cambridge American Cemetery in the United Kingdom. Following a multidisciplinary
analysis from DPAA historians, forensic anthropologists, and odontologists, it
was determined X-3323 could possibly be Mason. These remains were disinterred in
April 2017 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska,
for examination and identification.
To identify Mason’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) analysis.
Mason’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Margarten, Netherlands, along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Mason will be buried in North Arlington, New Jersey. The date has
yet to be determined.
August
30,
Navy Seaman 1st Class Joseph C. Rouse, 23, Craven County, North Carolina killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Rouse was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Rouse.
Rouse is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Army Cpl. Charles E. Hiltibran, 19, of
Cable, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Hiltibran was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st
Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported
missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces
near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could
not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
Hiltibran’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Hiltibran will be buried in Urbana, Ohio. The date has yet to be
determined.
August
30,
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Arthur R.
Thinnes, 17, of
Milwaukee, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Thinnes was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Thinnes.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Thinnes.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Thinnes’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Thinnes will be buried on Oct. 15, 2021, in his hometown.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Henry D.
Mitchell, 22, of Elm Springs, Arkansas, killed during World War II,
was accounted for.
In July 1944, Mitchell was assigned to the 48th Fighter Squadron,
14th Fighter Group, 15th Air Force in the European Theater. On July 8, he was
piloting a P-38 Lightning fighter on a mission outside of Vienna, Austria. As
his squadron was returning from the target, they encountered enemy aircraft.
After combat, Mitchell responded he was OK about 10-15 kilometers northeast of
Vienna, but was never heard from or seen again. Neither the Red Cross nor German
forces reported him as a prisoner of war. With no evidence that Mitchell had
survived his disappearance, the War Department issued an administrative Finding
of Death on July 9, 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American
personnel in Europe. However, Mitchell’s circumstances of loss behind enemy
lines precluded any possibility of recovery at the time. Search opportunities in
the area did not improve after the war, when Austria was divided into four
occupation zones. Eastern Austria, which included the area surrounding Vienna,
was in the Soviet Zone of Occupation.
Although the AGRC did not have access to the area, they did
conduct research into the captured German records detailing known shoot-downs of
American aircraft. German records reported the crash of a P-38 Lightning near
Waldegg, Austria, on July 8, 1944, and indicated the fate of the pilot as
unknown. Mitchell was declared non-recoverable on Dec. 11, 1953.
In the summer of 2013, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC),
a predecessor of DPAA, sent an investigation mission to the reported crash site
near Waldegg. The investigation found evidence that possibly linked the site
with Mitchell’s P-38. It took several years before DPAA was given permission to
excavate the site. In spring of 2021, a recovery team found possible evidence
which was subsequently sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base,
Nebraska, for scientific analysis.
To identify Mitchell’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence.
Mitchell’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at
Epinal American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Dinoze,
France, along with the others still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Mitchell will be buried in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The date has
yet to be determined.
August
27,
Navy Radioman 3rd Class Charles A.
Montgomery, 21, of Folcroft, Pennsylvania, killed during World War
II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Montgomery was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Montgomery.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Montgomery.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Montgomery’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Montgomery’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
Montgomery will be buried in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. The date
has yet to be determined.
August
27,
Navy Steward’s Mate 2nd Class Jesus F.
Garcia, 21, of Agana, Guam, killed
during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Garcia was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was
moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese
aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to
quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen,
including Garcia.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the
deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu
Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel
in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS)
disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and
transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks.
The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from
the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified
remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP),
known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board
classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including
Garcia.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns
from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Garcia’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence.
Garcia’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along
with the others who are still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the
Navy for their partnership in this mission.
Garcia will be buried Oct. 6, 2021, in San Diego.
August
26,
Navy Fireman 1st Class Walter S. Belt,
Jr., 25, of Cleveland, Kansas, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Belt was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Belt.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Belt.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Belt’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Belt will be buried on Oct. 9, 2021, in Ellsworth, Kansas.
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Ernest N.
Vienneau, 25, of Millinocket, Maine, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In the fall of 1944, Vienneau was a pilot assigned to the 340th
Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force, based out of
Amendola, Italy. On Nov. 6, the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber on which he was
serving as co-pilot came under heavy anti-aircraft fire while on a mission over
Maribor, Yugoslavia, in present-day Slovenia. During the barrage, a piece of
flak penetrated the cockpit and struck Vienneau in the head, mortally wounding
him. While the crew treated Vienneau, the pilot attempted to fly the damaged
B-17 back to base. However, the aircraft could not make it and the pilot was
forced to ditch off the coast of Vis Island, Croatia. The surviving 10 crew made
it out of the aircraft, but Vienneau’s body could not be recovered from the
rapidly sinking B-17. Following the war, his remains could not be found and
recovered.
In 2005, an analyst from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing
Personnel Office (DPMO), a predecessor to DPAA, received information concerning
the wreck of a B-17, and later met with an official from the Croatian
Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, who gave them
information on the wreckage. However, definitive proof that this was Vienneau’s
aircraft could not be obtained at that time.
In June 2017, DPAA partnered with Lone Wolf Productions to
document the underwater excavation of a B-24 Liberator aircraft wreckage off the
coast of Vis Island, Croatia. The film became an episode of the PBS Nova program
entitled "The Last B-24," which can be viewed at https://www.pbs.org/video/last-b-24-pequsf/.
When the excavation was hampered by inclement weather, the team relocated the
Croatian Navy ship to conduct a brief investigative dive on other wreckage
believed to be Vienneau's B-17. This efforts is also featured in "The Last B-24"
along with an interview with Vienneau's niece. Enough evidence was collected
from that dive to enable an underwater recovery to be planned. In the fall of
2020, personnel from DPAA, Lund University, University of Zadar, the Croatian
Conservation Institute, and the Croatian military recovered possible remains,
which were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for
analysis.
To identify Vienneau’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Vienneau’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the
Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Vienneau will be buried in Oct. 9, 2021, in his hometown.
August
26,
Army Sgt. Bernard J. Sweeney, Jr., 22,
of Waterbury, Connecticut, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In December 1944, Sweeney was assigned to Company I, 330th
Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. His unit had been engaged in battle
with German forces near Strass, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was
reported missing in action on Dec. 16. His body was not recovered.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel
in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between
1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Sweeney’s remains. He was
declared non-recoverable in November 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a
DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated
X-2752 Neuville, recovered from a minefield north of Kleinhau, Germany, in 1946
possibly belonged to Sweeney. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes
American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA
laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.
To identify Sweeney’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Sweeney’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at
Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Margarten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
The location and date of Sweeney’s funeral have not yet been
decided.
Army Cpl. Roy H. Thomas, 22, of St.
Charles, Virginia, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Thomas was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion,
31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action
on Dec. 12, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted
to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his
remains could not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
Thomas’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Thomas will be buried in Woodway, Virginia. The date has yet to
be determined.
August
25,
Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward E. Talbert, 19, Stanly County, North Carolina killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Talbert was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Talbert.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Talberts’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
August
25,
Navy Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Harvey C. Herber, 34, Pierce County, Washington killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 22, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Herber was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Herber.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Herbers’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Richard W. Horrigan, 24, Hancock County, West Virginia killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In April 1945, Horrigan was a pilot with the 22nd Fighter
Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force, serving in Germany.
He was a part of an armed reconnaissance mission to the Alt Lönnewitz Airfield on April 19, piloting a P-47D Thunderbolt fighter. He crashed while strafing enemy planes parked at the airfield, likely due to anti-aircraft fire.
Horrigan’s wingman witnessed the crash, but because the airfield was behind enemy lines, Horrigan could not be recovered.
Once sufficient evidence became available that he had not survived, a Report of Death for Horrigan was issued in November 1945.
Richard W Horrigan is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium
August
25,
U.S. Army Pfc. Berton J. McQueen, 20, of
McKee, Kentucky, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the fall of 1944, McQueen was assigned to Company D, 1st
Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division. In August, his unit
landed on the southern coast of France as part of Operation DRAGOON. After
securing the coastal ports, the 36th ID drove north, meeting with the D-Day
invasion force before turning towards Germany. On Nov. 22, 1st Battalion engaged
in a battle with enemy troops in in Clefcy, a town in the Alsace region.
McQueen’s company moved into the town to support the battle, but was pursued by
German infantry. He was mortally wounded by German artillery shrapnel and taken
to an aid station where he died Nov. 23 after 1st Battalion had been forced to
abandon Clefcy. German troops withdrew from the area several days later, but
McQueen’s body was not found.
The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with
recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater
following the war. In April 1946, remains later designated X-6093 St. Avold were
recovered from where they had been buried in a garden in Clefcy. They were
unable to identify the remains, and X-6093 was interred in the Normandy American
Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
Following exhaustive historical and scientific research, DPAA
officials concluded X-6093 were strongly associated with McQueen. The remains
were exhumed in June 2019 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air
Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.
McQueen’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Epinal American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Dinozé,
France, along with others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
McQueen will be buried Sept. 18, 2021, in his hometown.
Marine
August
24,
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Jack E. Hill,
21, of Casper, Wyoming, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In November 1943, Hill was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion,
6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed
against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa
Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several
days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were
killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually
annihilated.
Hill died on the third day of battle, Nov.
22, 1943. He was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East
Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33.
In 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company
centralized all of the American remains found on Tarawa at Lone Palm Cemetery
for later repatriation. However, almost half of the known casualties were never
found. No recovered remains could be associated with Hill, and, in October 1949,
a Board of Review declared him “non-recoverable.”
In 2009, History Flight, Inc., a nonprofit organization,
discovered a burial site on Betio Island believed to be Cemetery 33, which has
been the site of numerous excavations ever since. In March 2019, excavations
west of Cemetery 33 revealed a previously undiscovered burial site that has
since been identified as Row D. The remains recovered at this site were
transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
Hill’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Hill will be buried Nov. 11, 2021, in Seattle, Washington.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Frank G. Vejar, 19,
of Douglas, Arizona, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Vejar was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 31st
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on
Nov. 30, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin
Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be
recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
Vejar’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Vejar will be buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be
determined.
August
23,
Navy Fireman 1st Class Malcolm J.
Barber, 22; Navy Fireman 1st Class Leroy K. Barber, 21; and Navy Fireman 2nd
Class Randolph H. Barber, 19; of New London, Wisconsin, killed during
World War II, were accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, the Barber brothers were assigned to the
battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the
ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple
torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship
resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including the Barber brothers.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including the Barber brothers.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
The Barber brothers’ names are recorded at the Courts of the
Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to their names to indicate they
have been accounted for.
The Barber brothers will be buried on Sept. 11, 2021, in their
hometown
Army Pfc. Raymond A. Smith, 18, of
Brooklyn, New York, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Smith was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion,
32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action
on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted
to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his
remains could not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
Smith’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Smith will be buried Sept. 25, 2021, in his hometown.
Army Sgt. Elwood M. Truslow, 20, of
Batesville, Virginia, killed during the Korean War, was accounted
for.
In late 1950, Truslow was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion,
31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action
on Dec. 12, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted
to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his
remains could not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
Truslow’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Truslow will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.
August
23,
Army Pfc. Clarence W. Brotherton, 20, of
Gibson City, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In October 1944, Brotherton was assigned to Company C, 1st
Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged
in battle with German forces near Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when
he was killed in action on Oct. 14. Brotherton could not be recovered because of
the on-going fighting.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel
in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between
1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Brotherton’s remains. He
was declared non-recoverable in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Raffelsbrand
area, a DPAA historian determined that one of two sets of unidentified remains,
designated X-4491 Neuville and X-4492 Neuville, recovered comingled from
Raffelsbrand sector of the Hürtgen Forest near Germeter in 1946, possibly were
linked to Brotherton. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American
Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in September 2017 and sent to the DPAA
laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.
Brotherton’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at
Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Margarten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Brotherton will be buried Sept. 7, 2021, in his hometown.
August
11,
Marine Pfc. Charles R. Taylor, 26, Carnegie, OK killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Taylor was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Taylor.
August
11,
Naval Reserve Seaman 1st Class James C.
Williams, 20, of Portland, Oregon, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Williams was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,
which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the
deaths of 429 crewmen, including Williams.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the
remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and
Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen
U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves
Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the
two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at
Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the
identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS
subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In
October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as
non-recoverable, including Williams.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Williams’ name is recorded on the Courts of the
Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Williams will be buried Sept. 10, 2021, at Arlington National
Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
August
10,
Navy Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Herman Schmidt, 28, Sheridan County, Wyoming killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Schmidt was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Schmidt.
Missing in action or lost at sea. Incident location: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Herman Schmidt is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Army Sgt. Larry S. Wassil, 33, Essex County, New Jersey killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In late 1944, Wassil was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion,
13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.
His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive, near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 28. He was leading a three-man reconnaissance team scouting enemy positions near Bergstein when they started taking enemy machine gun fire, forcing them to scatter.
When the gunfire stopped, the other two men found each other, but were unable to find Wassil.
German forces never listed him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 29, 1945.
Larry Stanley Wassil is buried or memorialized at
American War Cemetery Margraten, Walls of the Missing.
Pilot
August
6,
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Henry D. Mitchell, 22,
Washington County, Arkansas
killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In July 1944, Mitchell was assigned to the 48th Fighter Squadron,
14th Fighter Group, 15th Air Force in the European Theater. On July 8, he was
piloting a P-38 Lightning fighter on a mission outside of Vienna, Austria. As
his squadron was returning from the target, they encountered enemy aircraft.
After combat, Mitchell responded he was OK about 10-15 northeast of Vienna, but
was never heard from or seen again. Neither the Red Cross nor German forces
reported him as a prisoner of war. With no evidence that Mitchell had survived
his disappearance, the War Department issued an administrative Finding of Death
on July 9, 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American
personnel in Europe. However, Mitchell’s circumstances of loss behind enemy
lines precluded any possibility of recovery at the time. Search opportunities in
the area did not improve after the war, when Austria was divided into four
occupation zones. Eastern Austria, which included the area surrounding Vienna,
was in the Soviet Zone of Occupation.
Although the AGRC did not have access to the area, they did
conduct research into the captured German records detailing known shoot-downs of
American aircraft. German records reported the crash of a P-38 Lightning near
Waldegg, Austria, on July 8, 1944, and indicated the fate of the pilot as
unknown. Mitchell was declared non-recoverable on Dec. 11, 1953.
In the summer of 2013, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC),
a predecessor of DPAA, sent an investigation mission to the reported crash site
near Waldegg. The investigation found evidence that possibly linked the site
with Mitchell’s P-38. It took several years before DPAA was given permission to
excavate the site. In spring of 2021, a recovery team found possible evidence
which was subsequently sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base,
Nebraska, for scientific analysis.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
August 3,
Navy Seaman 1st Class Biacio Casola, 26, Los Angeles County, California killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Casola was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Casola.
Biacio Casola is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
August 2,