|
2020
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stories and Press Releases below chart
|
Research
sites:
www.kpows.com
http://www.kpows.com/thezimmerleereports.html
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|
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|
Member Rank
|
First
and Last Name
|
Service
|
Unit
|
Lost
|
Location
|
Date Announced
|
Funeral
Date
|
Funeral
Location
|
|
Shipfitter
3rd Class
|
Patrick L. Chess
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
3/12/2020
|
|
|
|
Electrician's Mate 3rd Class
|
Alton W. Whitson
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
3/11/2020
|
|
|
|
Seaman 1st Class
|
Russell C. Roach
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
3/11/2020
|
|
|
|
Fireman 3rd Class
|
Clarence A. Blaylock
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
3/11/2020
|
|
|
|
Sgt.
|
Kenneth E. Walker
|
U.S. Army
|
Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division
|
12/2/1950
|
North Korea
|
2/27/2020
|
4/18/2020
|
Madill, Oklahoma
|
|
Sgt.
|
Duane O. Cole
|
U.S. Marine Corps
|
Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
|
11/20/1943
|
Tarawa
|
2/24/2020
|
6/20/2020
|
Spooner, Wisconsin
|
|
1st Lt.
|
Ernest L. Roth
|
U.S. Army Air Forces
|
359th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd
Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force
|
5/19/1944
|
Berlin, Germany
|
2/19/2020
|
|
|
|
Steward's Mate 2nd Class
|
Jesus F. Garcia
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
2/19/2020
|
|
|
|
FCC
|
Daniel F. Harris
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
2/11/2020
|
|
|
|
Pvt.
|
James J. Cansler
|
U.S. Army
|
Company C, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry
Regiment, 8th Infantry Division
|
12/19/1944
|
Hόrtgen
Forest, Germany
|
2/11/2020
|
|
|
|
Pfc.
|
James W. White
|
U.S. Army
|
Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5307th
Composite Unit (Provisional)
|
7/2/1944
|
Burma
|
2/11/2020
|
|
|
|
MMC
|
Lada Smisek
|
U.S. Navy
|
Naval Ammunition Depot and Submarine
Base, Cavite, Philippine Islands
|
9/28/1942
|
Philippines
|
2/4/2020
|
|
|
|
Cpl.
|
Oscar E. Koskela
|
U.S. Marine Corps
|
Headquarters Company, 29th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division
|
6/18/1944
|
Saipan
|
2/4/2020
|
|
|
|
Pfc.
|
Royal L. Waltz
|
U.S. Marine Corps
|
Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division
|
11/20/1943
|
Tarawa
|
2/4/2020
|
|
|
|
Seaman 1st Class
|
Warren C. Gillette
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/29/2020
|
|
|
|
Seaman 2nd Class
|
Cecil H. Thornton
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/29/2020
|
|
|
|
FIreman
2nd Class
|
Martin D. Young
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/28/2020
|
|
|
|
Fireman 2nd Class
|
William P. Kubinec
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS West Virginia
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/27/2020
|
|
|
|
Hospital Apprentice 1st Class
|
John M. Mulick
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/27/2020
|
|
|
|
Seaman 1st Class
|
Joe R. Nightingale
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/27/2020
|
|
|
|
Fireman 1st Class
|
Dan E. Reagan
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/27/2020
|
|
|
|
Fireman 2nd Class
|
Joseph W. Carroll
|
U.S. Navy
|
USS Oklahoma
|
12/7/1941
|
Pearl Harbor
|
1/27/2020
|
|
|
|
Cpl.
|
Arthur C. Ramirez
|
U.S. Army
|
Battery B, 57th Field Artillery
Battalion, 7th Infantry Division
|
12/6/1950
|
North Korea
|
1/22/2020
|
3/19/2020
|
Marana, Arizona
|
|
Pvt.
|
Pearl F. Barrow
|
U.S. Army
|
Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th
Infantry Division
|
11/20/1944
|
Hόrtgen,
Germany
|
1/16/2020
|
|
|
|
Gunnery Sgt.
|
Arthur B. Summers
|
U.S. Marine Corps
|
Company I, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
|
11/23/1943
|
Tarawa
|
1/6/2020
|
|
|
|
Sgt.
|
John V. Phillips
|
U.S. Army
|
Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry
Regiment
|
7/27/1942
|
Philippines
|
12/16/2019
|
|
Arlington National Cemetery
|
|
|
List posted 03/13/2020
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Some names in articles/press releases below were NOT posted to the
DPAA "list" yet when published.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
SOME HIGHLIGHTS NOTE
DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN HEADLINES ("captured") AND KNOWN
("MIA") STATUS.
|
We
asked why so many of these are being
re-announced 2-3 times increasing news forwards and confusion.
03/22/19
These are being published with the full information, while the initial
notification only contains basic information. The updates are providing
information on the loss, recovery and identification, as well as funeral
information if it is available at the time.
I hope this helps,
SFC Kristen Duus
Chief of External Communications
Public Affairs NCOIC- D.C. Directorate
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
|
|
|
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North Korea 'is using the bodies of political prisoners as FERTILISER to
grow crops for guards', former captive claims 03/31/2020
The prisoner, who
used the pseudonym Kim Il-soon, exposed the monstrous practice after
surviving the hell of Kaechon concentration camp, which is located
north of Pyongyang....
|
|
Holocaust Survivor Who Delivered US House Prayer Dies
of Coronavirus at 91
He was later awarded the Silver
Star Medal of Honor in recognition of his valor. Related
coverage. March 25, 2020 4:28 pm. 0. Israeli Envoy Wishes ...
First State flyer's remains return
According to the federal Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency, rescuers recovered the remains
of five. Three identified sets of remains and two ...
Sailor identified
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that Navy Seaman 1st
Class Orval A. Tranbarger, 20, of Mountain View,.
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|
From the desk of Jody Mays, Supervisor, Andersonville
National Historical Site.
From: Mays, Jody L
<Jody_Mays@nps.gov> On Behalf Of ANDE Information, NPS
Sent: 24 March, 2020 12:49
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: News Release: Andersonville National Historic Site
Implements Additional Modifications to Operations
National Park Service
News Release
Release Date: March 24, 2020
Contact:
NewsMedia@nps.gov
Andersonville National Historic Site Is Modifying
Operations To
Implement Local Health Guidance
Andersonville, Georgia Andersonville National
Historic Site, in response to Executive Order 03.23.20.01 issued by the
Governor of the State of Georgia, is announcing additional modifications to
operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread
of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
As of March 24, 2020, Andersonville National Historic
Site will offer limited services outside those that support visitor or
resource protection. At Andersonville National Historic Site, the
following services and operations will be suspended in order to comply with
the state order:
-
The National Prisoner of War Museum and the
historic site of Camp Sumter military prison will be closed to public
access.
-
The park will not operate or provide public
restrooms.
-
No visitor information services, programs, or
events will be offered or conducted.
-
No committal services or rendering of military
honors will be permitted in Andersonville National Cemetery. No more
than ten (10) immediate family members may be present to witness
burials. The family may request to conduct a proper committal service
when conditions permit.
The health and safety of our visitors, employees,
volunteers, and partners at Andersonville National Historic Site is our
number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with
federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor COVID-19. We will
notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our
website (https://www.nps.gov/ande/index.htm) and social media channels (http://facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS and
http://www.twitter.com/andeNHS).
Andersonville National Cemetery remains accessible to
the public from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. daily in accordance with the
latest federal, state, and local health guidance. Burial services for
eligible veterans and family members continue to be offered.
The NPS encourages people who choose to
visit Andersonville National Historic Site during this pandemic to adhere
to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and state and local public health authorities to protect
visitors and employees. As services are limited, the NPS urges visitors to
continue to practice Leave No Trace principles, including pack-in and pack-out, to keep outdoor spaces
safe and healthy.
The NPS encourages people to take advantage of the many
digital tools already available to explore Andersonville National Historic
Site, including:
Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. Please check with individual parks for specific details about park operations.
www.nps.gov
About
the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees
care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities
across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Learn more at
www.nps.gov,
and on
Facebook,
Instagram,
Twitter,
and
YouTube.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/03/24/military-suspends-recovery-of-fallen-troops-from-overseas-battlefields-amid-coronavirus-concerns/
Military suspends recovery of fallen
troops from overseas battlefields amid coronavirus
concerns
|
|
From: Everette,
Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 24 March, 2020 10:08
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: South Dakota Pilot Acccounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 24,
2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S.
Army Air Forces 2nd
Lt. Earl F. Ferguson, 26, of Philip, South
Dakota, killed during
World War II, was accounted for Sept. 30, 2019.
In the
summer of 1943,
Ferguson was a pilot assigned to the 329th
Bombardment Squadron,
93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. On Aug.
1, 1943, the B-24
aircraft on which Ferguson was the co-pilot 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, the
organization
that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel,
disinterred
all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for
identification. One set that could not be identified was designated Unknown
X-5300
Neuville, and reinterred into the American Military Cemetery at
Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.
In 2017,
DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with
unaccounted
for airmen from Operation Tidal Wave losses. On Aug. 28, 2017,
Unknown
X-5300 Neuville was disinterred and sent to the laboratory for
analysis.
To identify
Ferguson's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Ferguson'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.
Ferguson will be buried
in his hometown. The date has yet to be decided.
For family
and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
DPAA is
grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S.
Army
Regional Mortuary- Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.
For
additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420.
Ferguson's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000004pNoEAI.
///////
Respectfully,
Sean P.
Everette
SFC, USA
Public
Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington,
VA 22202
(703)
699-1420 |
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
Sent: 23 March, 2020 15:01
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: DPAA Release: DPAA Impacted by COVID-19
Good afternoon,
March 23, 2020
WASHINGTON- Like much of the world, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a
significant impact on the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), and in
particular, its operations.
Ultimately, the Agency's highest priority is the health, safety, and
physical well-being of the assigned service members, civilians, and
contractors, as well as the personnel of our partner organizations, all of
whom contribute to the accomplishment of its worldwide mission. To this,
DPAA is adhering to the Department of Defense (DoD) mandate of limiting all
travel of personnel.
All field missions this month have completed or terminated earlier than
planned, and personnel have returned home. Future missions are currently
postponed or canceled, at least through early June.
"COVID-19 dynamics have forced us to radically alter our operations, but
keeping our team safe, here at home and abroad, is paramount," said Kelly
McKeague, DPAA Director. "At the same time, we are continuing to take
actions with which our personnel can remain productive in their duties while
maintaining the required distancing."
Both the Miami, Florida, and Little Rock, Arkansas, Family Member Updates
(FMU), scheduled for March 21 and April 18, respectively, have been
canceled. Family members will still receive their respective loss briefings
provided by their service casualty officers and DPAA historians and analysts
by telephone. This is the first time DPAA has ever canceled an FMU, and did
so to protect attending families and other FMU participants.
The agency terminated several missions earlier than planned: DPAA's four
recovery teams (RT) and two investigation teams (IT) and partners' two RTs
and two ITs, affecting missions in Kiribati, the Philippines, Poland, and
Vietnam. All personnel are home and in 14-day self-isolation. Other than a
privately-funded underwater investigation off the coast of Latvia, there are
no other field missions across the globe.
DPAA had to cancel six RTs and one IT affecting missions in Austria,
Belgium, Italy, Laos, and the United Kingdom.
The agency postponed nine RTs and five ITs and partners' five RTs and nine
ITs affecting missions in Austria, Cambodia, Germany, Guam, Italy, Kuwait,
Laos, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Poland, Solomon Islands,
South Korea, Sweden, and Vietnam.
The majority of the DPAA workforce in Washington, D.C., Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, are teleworking
when possible so as to limit the gathering of people in offices and to limit
how often they need to take public transportation. DPAA leaders are
continually monitoring the situation and following guidance from the
respective DoD leadership.
The DPAA Laboratory System has entered into a lab work/telework balanced
plan designed to maintain progress on identifications while also mitigating
risks of spreading the virus. The plan is appropriate for the current
health protection levels of the three bases with laboratory facilities and
will be evaluated weekly as to its overall effectiveness.
"The ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic requires we take the
necessary precautions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of the virus,
while ensuring we remain mission ready," said Rear Adm. Darius Banaji,
DPAA's Deputy Director for Operations. "We've postponed or canceled
missions for the next several months; are focused on bring our teams home
safely and concurrently, adjusting our daily operations to minimize possible
exposure to COVID-19 while keeping the health and safety of our personnel
and their families at the forefront."
DPAA officials encourage all family members to remain connected with their
casualty service officers and visit DPAA's website at
WWW.DPAA.MIL
for
updates as the COVID-19 situation develops.
Despite the challenges imposed in mitigating COVID-19, DPAA remains
committed to accomplish the solemn mission of accounting for our missing
service members and civilians from past conflicts, and provide answers to
their families.
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and Communications
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St. South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 699-1420 |
|
From: Everette,
Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 23 March, 2020 09:06
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Virginia Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
March 23,
2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S.
Army Cpl. Ralph L.
Cale, 19, of Covington, Virginia, killed during
the Korean War, was
accounted for Aug. 7, 2019.
In December
1950, Cale was a
member of Company B, 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 in the vicinity
of the Chosin
Reservoir, North Korea. His remains could not be recovered
following the attack
and he was not reported as a prisoner of war.
On July 27,
2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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
Cale's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as
well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally,
scientists
from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA),
Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Cale'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.
Cale will be buried Aug.
14, 2020, at Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia.
For family
and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
For
additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420/1169.
Cale's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000001UJwzEAG.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P.
Everette
SFC, USA
Public
Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington,
VA 22202
(703)
699-1420 |
|
From: Everette,
Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 23 March, 2020 10:52
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Texas Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
March 23,
2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army
Maj. Harvey H.
Storms, 34, of McAllen, Texas, killed during the
Korean War, was
accounted for July 29, 2019.
In late
1950, Storms was a
member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion,
31st Infantry
Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, which was part of the 31st
Regimental Combat
Team. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950,
when his unit was
attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North
Korea. Following the
battle, his remains could not be recovered.
On July 27,
2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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
Storms' remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as
well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally,
scientists
from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA),
Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Storms' 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.
Storms will be buried June 12, 2020, at Arlington
National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia.
For family
and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
For
additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420/1169.
Storms'
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000007WhzlEAC.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P.
Everette
SFC, USA
Public
Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington,
VA 22202
(703)
699-1420 |
|
From: McKeague, Kelly K SES DPAA FO (US)
Sent: 20 March, 2020 13:11
CSubject: Comprehensive Mission Update
Greetings to each of you. We hope you and your families are healthy
and
safe despite these increasingly uncertain times. As you well know,
COVID-19
impacts have been extremely significant throughout our nation and the world,
and in many cases, devastating. The virus' effects to DPAA's mission
continue to expand, but to date, and fortunately, none of our personnel are
COVID-19 positive. With apologies in advance for this email's length,
the
below updates are provided for your awareness and interest.
- PRIORITIES: First and foremost, protecting the health and safety of
all
our personnel, to include our myriad partners, has been paramount.
Preserving our mission, while complying with Federal, State, and Local
directives, is our next priority.
- FAMILY MEMBER UPDATES: We cancelled both the Miami (March 21) and
Little
Rock (April 18) FMUs. This action is unprecedented; even immediately
following 9/11 we were able to hold a limited FMU. For now, planning
for
the Chicago FMU (May 16) continues.
- FIELD MISSIONS:
-- We terminated missions earlier than planned: DPAA's 4 recovery
teams (RT) and 2 investigation teams (IT); and Partners' 2 RTs and 2 ITs,
affecting missions in Kiribati, the Philippines, Poland, and Vietnam.
Once
the Vietnam teams return (expected tomorrow), all personnel will be home and
in 14-day self-isolation. Other than a privately-funded underwater
investigation off the coast of Latvia, there are no other field missions
across the globe.
-- We had to cancel DPAA's 6 RTs and 1 IT, affecting missions in
Austria, Belgium, Italy, Laos, and the United Kingdom.
-- We have had to postpone DPAA's 9 RTs and 5 ITs; and Partners' 5
RTs and 9 ITs, affecting missions in Austria, Cambodia, Germany, Guam,
Italy, Kuwait, Laos, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Poland,
Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sweden, and Vietnam.
DISINTERMENTS: We had to postpone (at least through June) 34
disinterments
in Europe and 45 from Manila. In addition, 12 transfer cases with
remains
that had been previously disinterred as well as recovered were unable to be
transported from the Army Mortuary in Germany to our NE lab.
LABORATORY OPERATIONS: The DPAA Laboratory System has entered
into a lab
work/telework balanced plan designed to maintain progress on identifications
while also mitigating risks of spreading the virus. The plan is
appropriate
for the current health protection levels of the three bases where our labs
are located and will be evaluated weekly as to its overall effectiveness.
Lab visits and tours are suspended.
KEY MEETINGS: The Annual Accounting Community Meeting, and DPAA's
Strategic
Off-site and FY2021-2022 Operations Symposium have all been postponed until
travel restrictions are removed. We will continue to develop the
underlying
plans via electronic collaboration. DPAA's Scientific Summit, hosting
11
partner nations, is postponed until August. Pending concurrence from
the
National Security Council, the US-Russia Joint Commission on POWs/MIAs 2020
Plenum (May 7) will be postponed until May 2021.
STAFF MANNING: For our DC office, 63% of the team is in telework.
Our HI
team is finalizing its teleworking split as the base reached a higher health
protection condition earlier this week. Our NE lab is following the
balanced plan noted above and our OH lab is at work given their ability to
maintain proper social distancing. Our Europe detachment is 100%
teleworking while our SE Asia detachments are being minimally manned.
MORTUARY AFFAIRS: Although not formally promulgated, we understand the
following changes are forthcoming -- family travel for funerals, in-flight
military escorts for remains, and funerals at Arlington National Cemetery
will be suspended; and in-person notification for the Primary
Next-of-Kin
and other casualty assistance are to be accomplished telephonically.
Wishing you continued good health and safety,
Kelly McKeague
Director, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Fulfilling Our Nation's Promise
|
|
From:
Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 19 March, 2020 08:18
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: California Pilot Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 19,
2020
WASHINGTONThe Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
U.S. Army
Air Forces 1st Lt.
Ernest L. Roth, 20, of Los Angeles, killed
during World War II,
was accounted for on Feb. 4, 2020.
In May 1944,
Roth was assigned as
a pilot with the 359th Bombardment
Squadron, 303rd
Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in Europe. On May 19, he
was piloting a B-17G
bomber while on a bombing run over Berlin when the
plane was hit by
flak and crashed. Six of the 10 crewmembers, including
Roth, were
killed in the incident. They were recovered by German forces and
reportedly
buried in the Dφberitz cemetery.
Following
the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command
(AGRC) was
tasked with investigating and recovering missing Americans. The
AGRC did not
find Roth in the grave in which he was reportedly buried, but
instead
recovered two other American service members whose plane had gone
down on the
same day. They did find a set of unknown remains designated
X-4801
Neuville in a grave nearby that was thought to either be Roth or one
other
American. However, the AGRC was unable to determine which person it
definitively
was, and so concluded X-4801 Neuville was unidentifiable.
In 2016,
DPAA historians began focused research on eight sets of unknown
remains
recovered from Dφberitz. One historian reconstructed the cemetery
plot map
with data from several sources, and concluded there were four
possible
casualties that could be associated with X-4801 Neuville. In June
2018, the
Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission
(ABMC)
exhumed X-4801 and transferred the remains to the DPAA Laboratory at
Offutt Air
Force Base, Nebraska.
To identify
Roths remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis,
along with circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from
the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
analysis.
Roths name
is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle
American
Cemetery, an ABMC site in Hombourg, Belgium, along with others who
are still
missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to
indicate he
has been accounted for.
Roth will be buried in his hometown. The
date has yet to be determined.
For family
and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
DPAA is
grateful to ABMC for their partnership in this mission.
For
additional information on the Defense Departments mission to account
for
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420/1169.
Roths
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001edMwSEAU.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P.
Everette
SFC, USA
Public
Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington,
VA 22202
(703)
699-1420
|
|
From: Everette,
Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 18 March, 2020 13:32
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Delaware Pilot Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 18,
2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S.
Army Air
Forces 2nd Lt. George M. Johnson, 23, of Seaford,
Delaware,
killed during World War II, was accounted for on Dec. 12,
2019.
On Jan. 21,
1944, Johnson was a
member of the 38th Bombardment Squadron,
30th Bombardment
Group, stationed at Hawkins Field, Betio Island, Tarawa
Atoll, Gilbert
Islands, when the B-24J bomber he was co-piloting crashed
into Tarawa lagoon
shortly after takeoff. Johnson and the nine other
servicemen
aboard the aircraft were killed.
Rescue crews
recovered the remains of five individuals. However, Johnson was
reportedly
not among those recovered. The three identified sets of remains
and two
unidentified sets were interred in Cemetery 33 on Betio Island, one
of several
cemeteries established after the U.S. seized the island from the
Japanese in
November 1943.
The U.S.
Army's 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted
remains
recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947. They attempted
to
consolidate all the remains from isolated burial sites into a single
cemetery
called Lone Palm Cemetery. The remains of the B-24J crew were
believed to
be among those moved. However, Johnson's remains were not
identified
and he was later declared non-recoverable.
In 2017,
History Flight, Inc., a non-profit organization partnered with
DPAA,
recovered several coffin burials from Cemetery 33. These remains were
sent to the
DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for
identification.
In April
2019, DPAA identified a set of remains as U.S. Army Air Forces
Staff Sgt.
Jack R. Busch, Jr. He had reportedly been accounted for in 1946
and buried
near Niagara, New York. Permission was granted by Busch's family
to exhume
the remains in New York for testing. The New York remains were
determined
to be associated with a set of remains from the History Flight
coffin
burials. The two sets of remains were consolidated for further
testing.
To identify
Johnson'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.
Johnson's
name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National
Cemetery of
the Pacific along with others still missing from World War II. A
rosette will
be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted
for.
Johnson will be buried May 8, 2020, in his hometown.
For family
and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
DPAA is
grateful to Busch's family for allowing the exhumation of the New
York
remains, and the U.S. Army for their assistance in this mission.
Additionally,
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc., for their
partnership in
this mission.
For
additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social
media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420/1169.
To view
Johnson's personnel profile, visit
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Xdk2EAC.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P.
Everette
SFC, USA
Public
Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington,
VA 22202
(703)
699-1420
|
|
From: Everette,
Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 18 March, 2020 11:55
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Missouri Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 18,
2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Navy
Seaman 1st Class
Orval A. Tranbarger, 20, of Mountain View,
Missouri, killed
during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 18, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Tranbarger 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 Tranbarger.
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 Tranbarger.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns
from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Tranbarger's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
Tranbarger'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.
Tranbarger will be
buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be decided.
For family
and funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for
their partnership in this mission.
For
additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420/1169.
Tranbarger's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgBWEA0.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P.
Everette
SFC, USA
Public
Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington,
VA 22202
(703)
699-1420
|
|
|
|
From:
Ann Mills-Griffiths <powmiafam@aol.com>
Sent: 17 March, 2020 08:12
To: powmiafam@aol.com
Subject: POW/MIA UPDATE: 3-17-20
UPDATE: March 17, 2020
AMERICANS ACCOUNTED FOR: The
number missing (POW/MIA) and otherwise
unaccounted-for (KIA/BNR) from the
Vietnam War is still 1,587.
Of that number 90% were lost in
Vietnam or in areas of Cambodia or Laos under
Vietnams wartime control: Vietnam-1,246
(VN-443, VS-803); Laos-286; Cambodia-48; PRC
territorial waters-7. Since chartered in 1970,
the League has sought the return of all POWs,
the fullest possible accounting for the
missing, and repatriation of all recoverable
remains. The total accounted for since the end
of the Vietnam War in 1975 is
996. A breakdown by country of
these 996 Americans is: Vietnam 672, Laos
279, Cambodia 42, and the PRC 3. In
addition, 63 US personnel were accounted
for between 1973 and 1975, the formal end of the
Vietnam War, for a
grand
total of 1,059. These 63
Americans, were accounted for by US-only efforts
in accessible areas, not due to
cooperation by post-war governments in Vietnam,
Laos or Cambodia.
A total of 287 have been
accounted for from Laos, 727 from Vietnam, 42
from Cambodia and 3 from the PRC.
NO IDs have been announced since July 26, 2019.
VIETNAM WAR ACCOUNTING OPERATIONS:
DPAA Deputy Director for Operations Rear Admiral
Darius Banaji, USN, recently
visited Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. His first
visit included time with DPAA teams conducting
field operations in Laos and Vietnam and
personnel assigned to Detachment 2 in Hanoi and
Detachment 3 in Vientiane. In addition, he met
with US Embassy staff, as well as counterpart
government officials in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
and Thailand.
.....
OPPORTUNITIES LOST DUE TO COVID
19 CORONA VIRUS:
Along with further field
operations in Laos and a DPAA-hosted Family
Member Update (FMU), the
US-ASEAN Special Summit,
scheduled to be held in Las Vegas on March 14th,
was cancelled. League Chairman/CEO Ann
Mills-Griffiths was scheduled to meet with
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on March 13th,
and was awaiting confirmation from the Lao and
Vietnamese Prime Ministers when the cancellation
was announced.
LEAGUES 51st ANNUAL
MEETING:
Pending possible
COVID 19 requirements to cancel,
registration for the 51st Annual
Meeting
is now open. Visit
www.pow-miafamilies.org/annual-meeting to
register online or download the form to mail
with your check to the
League office. Registrations must
be postmarked no later than June
1st. The form must be
returned with payment, to obtain credentials
required for entrance to all sessions and
special events. Those choosing to attend only USG
briefings must contact their Service Casualty
Office by June 1st. Pick
up credentials at the Virginia
Ballroom Foyer, Plaza Level, on Wednesday,
June 24th, 5:00-8:00
PM or
Thursday, June 25th, 8:00-9:00 AM. On Wednesday,
June 24th, attend Newcomer
Orientation, 6:30-7:30 PM, followed
by a Welcome
Reception, 7:30-9:00 PM.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:
Reserve rooms at the Hilton Crystal City Hotel
by calling 1-800-HILTONS (1-800-445-8667). Note
affiliation with the Leagues 51st Annual
Meeting, or go online to www.hilton.com,
and enter Group
Code MIA to get the special rate
of $160.00 +
tax, per room night, single or double. (+$20 per
night for each added adult in a room.) To get
the special rate, the cutoff
date is June 1st. The
number of rooms is limited, so register early to
assure your choice. If you intend to visit Capitol
Hill on Wednesday, June 24th,
plan to arrive on Tuesday, June 23rd. Opening
Session is Thursday, June
25th, as is the 51st Annual
Meeting Dinner. Official
briefings are all day on Friday, June 26th. Saturday
morning, June 27th, is the critical Q&A
Panel, followed by the very
important League
Business Session, open to all
registered attendees. A League-hosted
Farewell Reception will take
place that evening. Customary departure is on
Sunday, this year June 28th.
Chairmans Comment:
Despite many challenges, including continuing
structural dysfunction within DPAA, there is
reason for cautious optimism. With sustained
support from the families and our nations
veterans, the League is determined to press for
priority and answers on Vietnam War accounting,
as pledged by DPAA Director Kelly McKeague. The
League also supports field investigation and
recovery of unaccounted-for personnel from WWII,
the Korean War and the Cold War as a priority
over disinterment and ID of remains buried as
unknowns in US cemeteries at home and abroad,
so long as Vietnam War accounting efforts remain
DPAAs operational priority.
2020 MEMBERSHIP DUES:
To those who have not yet renewed
their League membership for 2020, the cost is
only $25/year for a family member, associate
member (concerned citizens/veterans) or
organization. Mail a check for dues to the
League office, or pay
online at
www.pow-miafamilies.org/membership.
The more dues received, the better chance the
League has to stay on top of USG
efforts to account for our
missing. Help the League save on postage by
sending an email address to
admin@pow-miafamilies.org
to receive future updates electronically; we
greatly appreciate your assistance in this
cost-saving effort.
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 March, 2020 13:54
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Illinois Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 16, 2020
WASHINGTON- The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that
Navy
Fireman 3rd Class Herbert B. Jacobson, 21, of Grayslake, Illinois,
killed during World War II, was
accounted for on Oct. 17, 2019.
On Dec. 7, 1941,
Jacobson
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 Jacobson.
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
Jacobson.
Between June and
November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from the
Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Jacobson's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from
the Armed Forces
Medical Examiner
System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosomal
(Y-STR) analysis.
Jacobson'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.
Jacobson will be buried May 15, 2020, at Arlington
National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800) 443-9298.
DPAA is grateful
to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this
mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans who
went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1193.
Jacobson's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XdzXEAS.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 March, 2020 08:48
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Illinois Marine Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 16, 2020
WASHINGTON- The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Marine
Corps
Sgt. Jerome B. Morris, 22, of East St. Louis,
Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for
on Sept. 27, 2019.
In November 1943,
Morris was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th
Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 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.
Morris was killed
on the third day of the battle, Nov. 22, 1943. His remains
were reportedly
buried in East Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33,
on Betio Island.
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 Morris, and in October 1949, a
Board of Review
declared him "non-recoverable."
In 2009, History Flight, Inc., a nonprofit
organization, located Cemetery
33. Excavations of the site over the past 10 years have
uncovered multiple
sets of remains. In mid-2019, a
set of remains later identified to be Morris
was recovered and turned over
to DPAA for possible identification.
To identify
Morris's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis, as well as material evidence.
Morris's name is
recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl,
along with the others still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next
to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Morris will be buried in
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. The date has yet to
be determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Marine Corps Casualty Office
at (800) 847-1597.
DPAA is grateful
to the United States Marine Corps for their assistance in
this mission.
Additionally,
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc.,
for their partnership in this
mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans who
went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at
www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Morris's
personnel profile can be views at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000LlWcEAK.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
'They Keep
Telling Me I'm Crazy': A Navy SEAL's Desperate Search for Answers
About His Own ...
PEOPLE.com
He'd
put on his Navy SEAL Team 7 T-shirt and his red, white and blue board
shorts and then asphyxiated himself next to a shadow box of the
medals, ...
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 12 March, 2020 09:22
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Oklahoma Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 12, 2020
WASHINGTON
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced
today that Army Pvt. Ballard McCurley, 34, of Pauls Valley,
Oklahoma, killed
during World War II, was accounted for on June
4, 2019.
In November
1944, McCurley was a member of Company M, 3rd
Battalion, 12th
Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division,
during the Battle of the Hόrtgen
Forest in Germany. On Nov. 29, 1944, his battalion went to a reserve
position in the woods west of the town of Hόrtgen. He and other Soldiers in
his unit were
ordered to clear a field of tree stumps so vehicles could drop
off rations and supplies. According to witnesses, while
clearing out a tree
stump, McCurley inadvertently set off an enemy anti-personnel
mine and was
killed instantly. His remains were not recovered or
identified immediately
after his loss.
After the war,
McCurleys remains were still missing. The American
Graves
Registration
Command (AGRC) extensively searched the Hόrtgen
Forest for him.
Unable to make
a correlation among the dozens of unknown remains found in
the area, the Army declared him non-recoverable.
While studying
unresolved American losses in and unidentified remains
recovered from
the Hόrtgen Forest, DPAA personnel analyzed
historical
documentation
regarding X-7359 Neuville, a set of unidentified
remains
recovered in
March 1948 from District #196 of the Hόrtgen Forest
by the
AGRC.
The remains had originally been found by a German civilian walking
along a forest trail who later led an AGRC team to the
site. The AGRC team
found the
remains lying on the ground, surrounded by U.S. Army infantry
equipment. The remains, designated X-7359, could not be
identified, and were
interred at
the United States Military Cemetery Neuville
(present day
Ardennes
American Cemetery).
Based upon the
original recovery location of X-7359, a DPAA historian
determined
that there was a likely association between the remains and
McCurley. In August 2018, the Department of Defense and
American Battle
Monuments
Commission disinterred X-7359 and accessioned the remains to the
DPAA
laboratory for identification.
To identify McCurleys 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.
McCurley will be buried April 25, 2020, in his
hometown.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800) 892-2490.
McCurleys name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing
at the
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments
Commission
(ABMC) site in
Hombourg, Belgium, along with the others missing
from WWII.
Although
interred as an Unknown, McCurleys grave was
meticulously cared for
by ABMC for 70 years. A rosette will be placed next to his
name to indicate
he has been accounted for.
DPAA is
grateful to ABMC and to the U.S. Army Regional
Mortuary-Europe/Africa
for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Departments mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1193.
McCurleys personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000LlMDEA0.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
From the desk of RDML Banaji, Deputy Director of Operations of DPAA.
March 2020 Recovery & Investigation Missions
Indo-Pacific Directorate
Current Organic Operations: There are a total of three Organic Missions deployed
§ (20-1MM) 15 personnel in Myanmar comprising 1
Recovery Team
§ (20-1KH/53rd JFA) 19 personnel in Cambodia
comprising 1 Recovery Team
§ (20-2VN/138th JFA) 91 personnel in Vietnam
comprising 2 Recovery Teams, 1 Underwater Recovery Team, and 1 Investigation
Team
Current Partnership Operations: There are a total of six Partnership Missions deployed
§ (20-1KI) 1 Recovery Team, partnered with History
Flight Group in Kiribati (Tarawa)
§ (20-2PH) 1 Investigation Team, partnered with the
University of Illinois at Chicago, in the Philippines
§ (20-3PH) 1 Recovery Team, partnered with the
University of Illinois at Chicago, in the Philippines
§ (20-2VN) 1 Investigation Team, partnered with the
Scripps Institute of Oceanography, in Vietnam
§ (20-3LA) 1 Investigation Team, partnered with the
University of Illinois at Chicago, in Laos
§ (20-3LA) 1 Limited Joint Investigation Element
(to include a member from Stony Beach), in Laos
Future Partnership Operations: There is one Partnership Mission set to deploy
§ (20-2KH) 1 Survey Team, partnered with the
University of Illinois at Chicago, in Cambodia
Disinterment Operations: We plan to disinter 20 World War II Unknowns from the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii
Cancelled/Postponed Operations:
- (20-3LA/158th) A 67-person team,
comprising 3 Recovery Teams, set to deploy to the Lao Peoples
Democratic Republic in early March is cancelled due to developing
COVID-19 concerns
§ (20-1KR) A 24-person team, comprising 1 Survey
Team, set to deploy for the Republic of Korea in late-March is postponed
until further notice due to developing COVID-19 concerns
Euro-Mediterranean Directorate
Current Organic Operations: There is one Organic Mission deployed
§ (20-3PA) 11 personnel in Panama comprising 1
Recovery Team
Future Organic Operations: There is one Organic Mission set to deploy
§ (20-2PL) 7 personnel in Poland comprising 1
Research Investigation Team
Cancelled/Postponed Operations:
§ (20-1IT) A 7-person team, comprising 1
Investigation Team, set to deploy to Italy in early March is postponed until
further notice due to developing COVID-19 concerns
March 2020 Mission Executive Summaries
Panama, 20-2PA: From January 23rd to February 4th 2020, 5 personnel deployed on one
organic Investigation Team to Panama. Team members surveyed a potential
loss site and returned with new information to set conditions for the
recovery operation.
Great Britain, 20-1GB: From January 20th to February 8th 2020, two organic researchers
completed investigation operations in Great Britain, where they accessed
archival records pertaining to American Missing in Action (MIA) cases from
World War II. Primarily, these records concern American MIA involved in
ground losses, crash sites, and underwater losses, who participated in joint
operations with the Royal Air Force and Army during WWII. Investigation
efforts were conducted at Royal Air Force Norholt,
the Great Britain National Archives, and the British Casualty Files of World
War II and will aid in future DPAA recovery operations.
Laos, 20-2LA (157th JFA): From January 10th to February 18th 2020, 64 personnel deployed
on three organic Recovery Teams and one Limited Joint Investigation Element
(LJIE) to the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. Efforts were aimed to
advance potential loss sites towards resolution and set conditions for
follow-on DPAA operations. One recovery team carried out excavation
operations at one site while two teams were placed on one relatively large
site making significant progress, excavating over 1,000 square meters. The
LJIE (to include members from Stony Beach) conducted investigation and survey
operations associated with nine incidents.
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 2 March, 2020 12:40
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Texas Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 2, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Navy
Fireman 1st Class Dan E. Reagan,
20, of Haslet, Texas, killed
during World War II, was accounted for Sept.
30, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Reagan 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 Reagan.
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 Reagan.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Reagan's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner
System used
Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR)
analysis.
Reagan'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.
Reagan will be buried April 14, 2020, in
North Little Rock, Arkansas.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Reagan's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgXjEAK.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
2 hours ago - A top Iranian official died
from the coronavirus Monday as the outbreak ... a member of
the Expediency Council which advises Iran's supreme
leader. ... sparked the hostage crisis, as well as Iraj Harirchi, the head of
an Iranian ...
Read More: Iran's Deputy Health Minister reveals he
has coronavirus, amid ... The hostage crisis, in the
early days of the Iranian revolution, was used by radical ...
6 hours ago - Adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader
Khamenei Dies of Coronavirus ... (TEHRAN, Iran) A member of a
council that advises Iran's supreme ... in Tehran in 1979
and sparked the 444-day hostage crisis, state media reported...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 days ago - Iran's high reported coronavirus death rate
raises questions about ... spokesperson for the group of Iranian students who
seized hostages at the ...
.....A top official in Iran, Masoumeh Ebtekar, the highest ranking woman in Irans government
and a vice president for women and family affairs, has tested positive for
the corona virus, state media reported, the latest senior official to
contract the COVID-19 illness. Ebtekar,
the English-speaking spokesperson for the group of Iranian students who
seized hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, was captured in a
photo attending a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on
Wednesday......
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 3 March, 2020 07:22
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Missouri Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 3, 2020
WASHINGTONThe
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
U.S. Army Pvt. James J. Cansler,
21, of Bolivar, Missouri, killed during
World War II,
was accounted for Jan. 29, 2020.
In December
1944, Cansler was assigned to Company C, 1st
Battalion, 28th
Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.
His unit was engaged in battle
with German forces near Vossenack, Germany, in the Hόrtgen
Forest, when he
was reported as missing in action on Dec.
19. A year later, Army officials
had received
no evidence he had been captured or otherwise survived combat,
and so released a presumptive finding of death.
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 Hόrtgen
area between
1946 and 1950,
but were unable to recover or identify Canslers
remains. He
was declared non-recoverable in 1951.
While studying
unresolved American losses in the Hόrtgen area, a
DPAA
historian
determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2505
Neuville, recovered from a minefield north of Vossenack in 1946 possibly
belonged to Cansler. The
remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American
Cemetery in
1950, were disinterred in June 2018 and sent to the DPAA
laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for
identification.
To identify Canslers remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis, as well as material and
circumstantial evidence.
Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
analysis.
Canslers 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.
Cansler will be buried April 15, 2020 in
Springfield, Missouri.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
DPAA is
grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S.
Army Regional
Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Departments mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Canslers personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000QrrPEAS.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 2 March, 2020 12:40
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Texas Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
March 2, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Navy
Fireman 1st Class Dan E. Reagan,
20, of Haslet, Texas, killed
during World War II, was accounted for Sept.
30, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Reagan
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 Reagan.
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 Reagan.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Reagan's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner
System used
Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR)
analysis.
Reagan'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.
Reagan will be buried April 14, 2020, in North Little Rock,
Arkansas.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Reagan's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgXjEAK.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
|
|
February 21, 2020
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PVC Junior Carl Evans
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency announced that remains found in North Korea have been
identified as an East Texas soldier who has ...
|
From: Ann Mills-Griffiths <powmiafam@aol.com>
Sent: 19 February, 2020 16:32
To:
Subject: Re: Interesting Video About the End of the
Vietnam War
This is about 5 minutes long, about the ignominious end
to the Vietnam War with the Paris Peace Accords of January 27, 1973, and US abrogation
of commitments made to the South Vietnamese, i.e. the US Congress voted not
to fund pledges made by the Nixon Administration and walked away........
It is a short, accurate reminder of what occurred when
the US walked away from its commitments to our South Vietnamese
allies.........and the entire country fell to the North Vietnamese on April
30, 1975.........and the rest is history........"reunification" of
Vietnam (to use the North's terminology, and the long, long process of
building the humanitarian channel of communication and cooperation on a
humanitarian path, to be pursued as a matter separate from policy and
political divisions.........
That was so long ago, but look at all that we've
achieved since President Reagan came into office in 1981 with his inherent
commitment and a staff of like-minded Vietnam Veterans got serious about
developing a coherent policy that the POW/MIA Interagency Group (IAG) began
to implement........thankfully! And, onward.................. Ann
Chairman of the Board & CEO
National League of POW/MIA Families
5673 Columbia Pike, Suite 100
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 27 February, 2020 09:54
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Iowa Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 27, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Navy
Fireman 1st Class Leo T. Keninger, 20, of Ackley, Iowa,
killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 30,
2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Keninger 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 Keninger.
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 Keninger.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Keninger's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
Keninger'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.
The date and location of Keninger's funeral has yet to be determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Keninger's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XdznEAC.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 27 February, 2020 10:32
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Oklahoma Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
Feb. 27, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Sgt. Kenneth E. Walker, 19, of Madill,
Oklahoma, killed during the
Korean War, was
accounted for Nov. 12, 2019.
In late 1950, Walker was a member of Charlie Company,
1st Battalion, 32nd
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action
Dec. 2, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, after
his unit was attacked by enemy forces. His
remains could not be recovered
following the battle. After the war, no returned prisoners of war reported
seeing him in any camps.
On July 27,
2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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
Walker's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Additionally,
scientists
from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosomal DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) and
analysis.
Walker'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.
Walker will be buried April 18, 2020, in
his hometown. (Madill, Oklahoma)
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Walker's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000002XQmdEAG.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 27 February, 2020 09:13
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Virginia Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 27, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Navy Fireman 1st Class Andrew J. Schmitz, 26,
of Richmond, Virginia,
killed during World War II, was accounted for
Sept. 18, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Schmitz 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 Schmitz.
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 Schmitz.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Schmitz's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
Schmitz'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.
Schmitz will be buried March 6, 2020 in
Amelia Court House, Virginia.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Schmitz's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgQYEA0.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 25 February, 2020 09:48
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Minnesota Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
Feb. 25, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Sgt.
David C. Sewell, 30, of Walker, Minnesota, killed during the
Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 23, 2019.
In late 1950, Sewell was a member of Company M, 3rd
Battalion, 31st Infantry
Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was
reported missing in action on Nov.
28, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when his
unit was attacked by enemy forces.
Following the battle, his remains could
not be recovered.
On July 27,
2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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
Sewell's remains, scientists from DPAA used circumstantial and
material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical
Examiner
System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal
DNA (auSTR)
analysis.
Sewell'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.
Sewell will be buried in Anoka,
Minnesota. The date has yet to be
determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Sewell's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000WDWvDEAX.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 25 February, 2020 12:41
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From California Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 25, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S.
Naval Reserve Machinist's Mate 1st
Class Paul H. Gebser, 39, of
San Diego, killed during World War II,
was accounted for Sept. 30, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Gebser 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 Gebser.
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 Gebser.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Gebser's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
Gebser'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.
The date and location of Gebser's funeral have yet to be determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Gebser's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XeLKEA0.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 24 February, 2020 15:12
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Michigan Marine Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 24, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Marine
Corps Sgt. Duane O. Cole, 23, of
Niles, Michigan, killed during
World War II,
was accounted for on Sept. 3, 2019.
In November
1943, Cole was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th 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. Cole was killed on the first day of
the battle, Nov.
20,
1943. His remains were reportedly buried in either Division Cemetery 5
or Central Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 26.
In 1946, the
604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company centralized all
of the
American remains found on Tarawa to Lone Palm Cemetery for later
repatriation; however, almost half of the known casualties
were never found.
No recovered
remains could be associated with Cole, and in October 1949, a
Board of
Review declared him "non-recoverable."
In 2014,
History Flight, Inc., a nonprofit organization, located Cemetery
26.
Excavations uncovered multiple sets of remains, which were turned over
to DPAA.
To identify
Cole's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Additionally,
scientists
from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Cole's name is
recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along
with the others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be
placed next to
his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Cole's will be buried June 20, 2020, in
Spooner, Wisconsin.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Marine Corps Casualty Office
at (800) 847-1597.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc., for
their partnership in this
mission.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Cole's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XdjYEAS.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 24 February, 2020 14:00
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Arkansas Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 24, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Navy Fireman 1st Class James C. Webb, 23, of
Hobart, Arkansas, killed
during World War II, was accounted for on July
29, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Webb 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 Webb.
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 Webb.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Webb's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
Webb'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.
The date and location for Webb's funeral
have yet to be determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Webb's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Xg9QEAS.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 24 February, 2020 13:04
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Missouri Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 24, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Navy
Seaman 2nd Class Everett G. Windle, 20, of Kansas City,
Missouri, killed during World War II, was
accounted for Oct. 1, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Windle 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 Windle.
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 Windle.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Windle's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
Windle'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.
Windle will be buried at the Punchbowl. The date
has yet to be determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty office at
(800)
443-9298.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Windle's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XeJAEA0.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 18 February, 2020 13:25
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor from New York Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 18, 2020
WASHINGTON-The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
Navy Seaman 1st Class Lyal
J. Savage, 19, of Dexter, New York, killed during
World War II,
was accounted for on July 29, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Savage 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 Savage.
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 Savage.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify
Savage's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA,)
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR) and
autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Savage's name
is recorded on the Walls 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.
Savage will be buried June 27, 2020, in
his hometown. Dexter, New York
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty office at
(800)
443-9298.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Savage's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgTNEA0.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
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02/18/2020 Wonderful
work these organizations are doing.
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 18 February, 2020 09:07
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to Speak with
Families in Portland
Dear Editor,
DoD to Inform
Families of POW/MIA in Portland
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that personnel
from their agency, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System,
and Service
Casualty Offices will be in Portland, Oregon, Feb. 22, 2020, to
meet with
families whose loved ones are unaccounted for from our modern
conflicts ranging from the Vietnam War and the Cold War to
World War II.
Family members
interested in attending can register at
www.dpaa.mil/Families/Family-Events or call (703) 699-1420/1193.
Family members
will be briefed on what DPAA and their partners are doing to
bring their loved ones home. Families will have the chance
to honor their
missing loved one in a Remembrance Ceremony. There will
also be the chance
for families
to have two-way conversations with casualty officers from the
military services
and other government specialists so they can ask specific
questions about their loved ones' loss.
The Department
of Defense is committed to keeping families of the missing
and the public informed about the efforts being made to
account for our U.S.
personnel. Throughout the year, DPAA specialists meet with
hundreds of
family members
in Washington, D.C.; Hawaii; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska;
Dover Air
Force Base, Delaware; and major metropolitan areas across the
country. These meetings are designed to address the
individual needs of the
family members.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1193.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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NON COMBAT CASUALTIES - MISSING
https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/news/uss-thresher-documents-up-for-declassification
Will the
truth about the USS Thresher finally be revealed?
In
1963, the nuclear powered USS Thresher submarine sank to the bottom of the
sea with all 129 hands lost off of the Eastern Seaboard. Several days later,
after hope for a recovery had been abandoned,
President Kennedy ordered that flags be flown at half
staff in respect for the submariners.
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 13 February, 2020 13:05
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Oregon Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 13, 2020
WASHINGTON-The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
Navy Fire Controlman
1st Class Robert L. Corn, 24, of Baker City, Oregon,
killed during World War II, was accounted for
on Jan. 29, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Corn 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 Corn.
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 Corn.
In April 2015,
the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum
directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the
USS Oklahoma. On
June 15, 2015,
DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the Punchbowl
for analysis.
To identify
Corn's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and
dental analysis, as well as circumstantial and material
evidence.
Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
Y-chromosome
DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Corn'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.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership
in this mission.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
Corn will be buried May 1, 2020, at the
Punchbowl.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for missing
Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the
DPAA website
at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.dpaa.mil/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Corn's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XeKsEAK
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 13 February, 2020 12:05
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor From Michigan Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 13, 2020
WASHINGTON-The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward Wasielewski, 21, of Detroit, killed during
World War II,
was accounted for May 15, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Wasielewski 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 Wasielewski.
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 Wasielewski.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknown remains
from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Wasielewski's remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological
analysis, as well as circumstantial and material
evidence. Additionally,
scientists
from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome
STR DNA
(Y-STR) analysis.
Wasielewski 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.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at
(800)
443-9298.
Wasielewski will be buried Feb. 21, 2020, in San
Diego.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Wasielewski's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Xg9aEAC.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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February 7, 2020
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Flagpole erected to honor veterans
A conversation last Memorial Day
was the start of an effort that has resulted in a flagpole flying the
American flag and a POW/MIA flag over the ...
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February 5, 2020
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Veterans exhibit now open
The exhibit also includes a
somber table of honor informing the public about POW/MIA
veterans. A specially designed kiosk allows visitors to see the ...
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 7 February, 2020 14:01
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Kansas Marine Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 7, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Marine
Corps Reserve Pfc. Raymond Warren,
21, of Silverdale, Kansas,
killed during World War II, was accounted for
on June 10, 2019.
In November
1943, Warren was a member of
Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th
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. Warren died between the first
and second day of
battle, Nov. 20-21, 1943. He was reported to have been
buried in the
Division
Cemetery, which was eventually renamed to Cemetery #27.
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 Warren, and, in October 1949,
a Board of Review declared him
"non-recoverable."
In 2015, History Flight, Inc., a nonprofit
organization, notified DPAA that
they discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of
what they believed to be missing American
service members who had been
buried in Cemetery #27. The remains were
accessioned into the DPAA
laboratory.
To identify
Warren's remains, scientists from DPAA used 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.
Warren's name
is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National
Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others killed or lost in
WWII. A
rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Warren will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia.
The date has yet to be determined.
DPAA is grateful to the Republic of
Kiribati and History Flight, Inc. for
their partnership in this mission.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Marine Corps Casualty Office
at (800) 847-1597.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Warren's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000ECZ0GEAX.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
From:
Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 7 February, 2020 07:01
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Illinois Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
Feb. 6, 2020
WASHINGTON The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Master Sgt. Harold F. Drews, 21,
of Elgin, Illinois, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Nov. 5,
2019.
In December 1950, Drews was assigned to King Company, 3rd
Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry
Division. For several days, his unit was engaged in intense fighting with the
Chinese Peoples Volunteer Forces near the Chosin
Reservoir in North Korea. Drews went missing in action
on Dec. 12, 1950. His remains could not be recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President
Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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 Drews
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 autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Drews
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 missing
from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he
has been accounted for.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Drews will be buried
Feb. 19, 2020, in St. Charles, Illinois.
For additional information on the
Defense Departments mission to account for Americans who went missing while
serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Drewss
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000egondEAA
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and Communications
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St. South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 699-1420
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 7 February, 2020 07:06
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Tennessee Marine Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 6, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Marine
Corps Cpl. Thomas H. Cooper, 22, of
Chattanooga, Tennessee,
killed during World War II, was accounted for
Aug. 9, 2019.
In November
1943, Cooper was a member of
Company A, 2nd Amphibious Tractor
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. Cooper died on the first day of the
battle, Nov. 20,
1943. He
was reportedly buried on Betio Island.
Despite the
heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in
the battle of
Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the
Gilbert
Islands provided the U.S. Pacific Fleet a platform from which to
launch
assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their
Central
Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the
immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members
who died in
the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on
the island. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration
Company conducted
remains
recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947,
but Cooper's
remains were not identified. All of the remains found on
Tarawa were sent to
the Schofield
Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification
in 1947.
In March 1980,
the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA,
sent officials to Betio
Island to receive skeletal remains that had been
recovered during a construction project. Of the
three sets recovered, two
were identified. The third was declared
unidentifiable and was subsequently
buried in the National Memorial Cemetery
of the Pacific, known as the
Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In 2016, DPAA
disinterred the remains of 94 Tarawa Unknowns from the NMCP
for identification. The remains were consolidated and sent
to the laboratory
for analysis.
To identify
Cooper's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and
Y-chromosome DNA
(Y-STR)
analysis.
Cooper's name
is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl
along with the others 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 for their partnership
in this recovery.
For family and
funeral information, call the Marine Corps Casualty Office at
800-847-1597.
Cooper will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington, Virginia.
The date has yet to be determined.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Cooper's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XdjbEAC
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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February
6, 2020
Arizona soldier's remains identified
TUCSON- An Arizona soldier killed during
the Korean War was accounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency. Army Cpl.
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 4 February, 2020 13:46
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS West Virginia Sailor from Kansas Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 4, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Navy Fireman 1st Class Hadley I. Heavin, 23, of Baxter Springs, Kansas,
killed during World War II, was accounted for
on Sept. 17, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Heavin was assigned to the battleship USS West
Virginia,
which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl
Harbor, when the ship was attacked by
Japanese aircraft. The USS West Virginia sustained multiple
torpedo hits,
but timely
counter-flooding measures taken by the crew prevented it from
capsizing, and it came to rest on the shallow harbor floor.
The attack on
the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Heavin.
During efforts
to salvage the USS West Virginia, Navy personnel recovered
the remains of the deceased crewmen, representing at least
66 individuals.
Those who
could not be identified, including Heavin, were
interred as
unknowns at
the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the
Punchbowl, in
Honolulu.
From June
through October 2017, DPAA, in cooperation with cemetery
officials,
disinterred 35 caskets, reported to be associated with the USS
West Virginia
from the Punchbowl and transferred the remains to the DPAA
laboratory.
To identify Heavin'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), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal
DNA
(auSTR) analysis.
Heavin'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.
DPAA is
grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
For family and
funeral information, call the Navy Casualty office at (800)
443-9298.
Heavin will be buried May 23, 2020, in his hometown of Baxter
Springs, Kansas.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Heavin's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000004mnkEAA.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 4 February, 2020 13:05
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: USS Oklahoma Sailor from Kansas Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Feb. 4, 2020
WASHINGTON
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Navy Fireman 1st Class Rex E. Wise, 21, of South
Haven, Kansas, killed
during World War II, was accounted for on Oct.
17, 2019.
On Dec. 7,
1941, Wise 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 Wise.
From December
1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the
deceased crew,
which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nuuanu
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 Wise.
Between June
and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma
Unknowns from
the Punchbowl for analysis.
¬
To identify
Wises remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from
the Armed Forces
Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
analysis.
Wises 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.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty office at
(800)
443-9298.
Wise will be buried April 22, 2020, in Braman,
Oklahoma.
For additional
information on the Defense Departments mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil,
find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Wises
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Xg8SEAS.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 29 January, 2020 21:43
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Arizona Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
Jan. 29, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Cpl. Arthur C. Ramirez, 19, of Pima,
Arizona, killed during the
Korean War, was
accounted for Sept. 9, 2019.
In late 1950,
Ramirez was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery
Battalion, 7th
Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec.
6, 1950, when
enemy forces attacked his unit near the Chosin
Reservoir,
North Korea.
His remains could not be recovered following the attack.
On July 27,
2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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
Ramirez's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as circumstantial and material
evidence. Additionally,
scientists
from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Ramirez'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
missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next
to his name to
indicate he has been accounted for.
Ramirez will be buried March 19, 2020 in
Marana, Arizona.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty office at
(800)
892-2490.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Ramirez'
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000004OWV7EAO.
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20200118/ground-broken-for-national-powmia-memorial--museum-in-jacksonville?fbclid=IwAR34tOn1SDEt2grp0ksAxvFe1Vau90InssrgZ5EgxiQMr3kFNfgWYOKVfE8
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HonorReleaseReturn/permalink/2692472704173573/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RideHome/
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 21 January, 2020 10:07
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Missouri Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Jan. 21, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Army
Sgt. John V. Phillips, 25, of
Cassville, Misssouri, who was
captured and died as a prisoner of war
during World War II, was accounted
for Dec. 11, 2019.
In 1941, Phillips was a member of Headquarters
Company, 31st Infantry
Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded
the Philippine Islands in December.
Intense fighting continued until the
surrender of the Bataan peninsula on
April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island
on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of
U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at
POW
camps. Phillips was among those reported captured after the surrender
of Corregidor and held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More
than 2,500 POWs
perished in this camp during the war.
According to
prison camp and other historical records, Phillips died July
27, 1942, and was buried along with other
deceased prisoners in the local
Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery, in Common Grave
225.
Following the
war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel
exhumed those
buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to
a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In late
1947, the AGRS
examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Due
to the
circumstances
of the POW deaths and burials, the extensive commingling, and
the limited
identification technologies of the time, all of the remains
could not be individually identified. The unidentified
remains were interred
as "unknowns" in the present-day Manila American
Cemetery and Memorial.
In March 2018,
remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred and
sent to the
DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for
analysis.
To identify
Phillips' 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.
Phillips' name
is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila
American
Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission
(ABMC) site
along with others missing from WWII. Although interred as an
"unknown"
in Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Phillips' grave was
meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the ABMC.
A rosette will be
placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted
for.
DPAA is
grateful to the ABMC and the United States Army for their
partnership in this mission.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
Phillips will be buried at Arlington
National Cemetery in Arlington,
Virginia. The date has yet to be
determined.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Phillips'
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Lm0mEAC
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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Mystery of
missing D-Day hero is solved after 75 YEARS: Body of US airman who was shot
down over Normandy is finally found and will be laid to rest on what would
have been his 100th birthday
William McGowan of Benson,
Minnesota, was killed on June 6, 1944, when his P-47 Thunderbolt (left in a
file image) crashed during a mission near Moon-sur-Elle, Normandy, 13 miles
from Omaha Beach. A previous survey failed to locate his body, but now his
remains have been identified and will be buried alongside those of his
comrades at the Normandy American Cemetery (bottom inset his name on a
memorial in the village of Moon-sur-Elle). Lt McGowan (top inset and right
during training) was on a low-level strafing and bombing mission south of the
landing beaches when he crashed, according to the American Air Museum at IWM
Duxford. As he pulled up from a bombing run, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire
and went into a spin at low altitude. He was not yet 24. His family said that
the news of the discovery of his remains 75 years later was their 'greatest
joy'.
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 January, 2020 12:48
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Iowa Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Jan. 16, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Pvt. Roy Brown, Jr., 22, of Des Moines,
Iowa, killed during World
War II, was accounted for on May 13,
2019.
On Dec. 2,
1942, Brown was a member of Company I, 126th Infantry Regiment,
32nd Infantry
Division, when his unit was forced into intense engagement
with Japanese
forces in the vicinity of Soputa-Sanananda Track in
the
Australian
Territory of Papua (present-day Papua New Guinea). Brown was
reported
missing and presumed dead when he could not be accounted for by his
unit.
On Feb. 2,
1943, the remains of an unidentified American Soldier were
interred at the U.S. Temporary Cemetery Sanananda #2. On April 6, 1943, the
remains,
designated Unknown X-72 were reinterred at Temporary Cemetery #1 at
Soputa, then moved them to U.S. Armed Forces Finschhafen #2, where they were
redesignated X-1086.
In 1947, the
American Graves Registration service exhumed approximately
11,000 graves,
including X-1086, and sent the remains to the Central
Identification
Point at the Manila Mausoleum in the Philippines. X-1086
could not be
identified and were interred at Fort McKinley (now the Manila
American
Cemetery and Memorial).
In May 2017,
Unknown X-1086 was disinterred, and the remains were sent to
the DPAA laboratory in Offutt, Nebraska, for analysis.
To identify
Brown'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.
Brown's name
is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American
Cemetery and
Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) site
along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be
placed next to
his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
DPAA is
grateful to the ABMC for their partnership in this mission.
Brown will be buried in his hometown. The
date has yet to be determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420.
Brown's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Xg70EAC
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 January, 2020 10:58
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: California Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Jan. 16, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Pvt. Charlie M. Waid,
26, of Chico, California, killed during
World War II,
was accounted for July 24, 2019.
In 1942, Waid was serving in the Medical Detachment of the 31st
Infantry
Regiment when
Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands. Intense
fighting
continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9,
1942, and of
Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of
U.S. and Filipino service members were taken prisoner and sent
to prisoner of war camps. Waid was among those reported captured after the
surrender of Corregidor and held at the Cabanatuan
POW camp. More than 2,500
POWs perished in this camp during the
war.
According to
prison camp and other historical records, Waid died
Nov. 19,
1942, and was
buried along with fellow prisoners in the local Cabanatuan
Camp Cemetery
in grave number 717.
Following the
war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel
exhumed those
buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to
a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In late
1947, the AGRS
examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Due
to the
circumstances
of the POW deaths and burials, the extensive commingling, and
the limited
identification technologies of the time, all of the remains
could not be individually identified. The unidentified
remains were interred
as "unknowns" in the present-day Manila American
Cemetery and Memorial.
In 2014, the
"unknown" remains associated with Common Grave 717 were
disinterred
and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis, including one set,
designated X-4852 Manila Mausoleum.
To identify Waid'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.
Waid's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at
the Manila American
Cemetery and
Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) site
along with others missing from WWII. Although interred as
an "unknown" in
Manila
American Cemetery and Memorial, Waid's grave was
meticulously cared
for over the past 70 years by the ABMC. A rosette
will be placed next to
his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
DPAA is
grateful to the ABMC for their partnership in this mission.
Waid will be buried in Hollywood Hills,
California. The date has yet to be
determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800)
892-2490.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on
social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Waid's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XeyoEAC
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 January, 2020 10:18
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Illinois Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
Jan. 16, 2020
WASHINGTON-
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Cpl. William L. Brown, 18, of Sesser,
Illinois, killed during the
Korean War, was
accounted for Oct. 17, 2019.
In late 1950,
Brown was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry
Regiment, 7th
Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Dec. 2,
1950, in the
vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when
his unit
was attacked by enemy forces. Following the battle, his
remains could not be
recovered.
On July 27,
2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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
Brown's remains, scientists from DPAA used circumstantial
evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces
Medical Examiner
System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Brown'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
missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next
to his name to
indicate he has been accounted for.
Brown will be buried in Mound City,
Illinois. The date has yet to be
determined.
For family and
funeral information, contact the Army Casualty office at
(800)
892-2490.
For additional
information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans
who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Brown's
personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000bHu1fEAC
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs
NCOIC
Outreach and
Communications
Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St.
South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA
22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
From: Everette,
Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 15 January, 2020 14:13
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Texas Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
January 15, 2020
WASHINGTON- The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Pfc. Junior C. Evans, 20, of Hall County, Texas,
killed during the
Korean War, was accounted for
Aug. 7, 2019.
In late 1950, Evans was a member
of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry
Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec.
12, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. However,
accurate accountability of troops
was often difficult due to the chaotic
environment and Evans likely went
missing during a battle between Nov. 27
and Dec.
6, 1950. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the
summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim
Jong-un in June 2018, 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 Evans' remains,
scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis,
as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces
Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA)
and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Evans' 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
missing
from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to
indicate
he has been accounted for.
Evans will be buried in Gilmer, Texas. The date has yet to
be determined.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at
(800) 892-2490.
For additional information on the
Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans who went missing
while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call
(703) 699-1420/1169.
Evans' personnel profile can be
viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000001UwoAEAS
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and Communications
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St. South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
01/14/2020
|
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC
(USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 13 January, 2020 11:23
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Iowa Pilot Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Jan. 13, 2020
WASHINGTON-The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lowell
S. Twedt, 27, of Le Grand, Iowa, killed
during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 11, 2019.
(This identification was initially published Dec. 13, 2019.)
In the fall of 1944, Twedt was a pilot assigned to
the 71st Fighter
Squadron, 1st Fighter Group. On Oct. 20, he piloted a P-38J
"Lightning"
aircraft as part of an escort for a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombing
mission
targeting oil storage tanks in Regensburg, Germany. The mission encountered
enemy anti-aircraft fire around Bolzano, Italy. Three P-38Js, including
Twedt's, went down as a result. An eyewitness
account saw Twedt's aircraft
falling to the ground in flames, and did not see him eject. Twedt's remains
were never recovered.
In 2017, Roland Domanig, a retired physics
professor from Austria who had
helped DPAA in the past, contacted the agency with news that he had found
wreckage of a P-38 he believed to be Twedt's. Over
the course of the next
two years, DPAA investigated and excavated the site, recovering remains in
September 2019 that were sent to the DPAA laboratory in Offutt, Nebraska,
for identification.
To identify Twedt's remains, scientists from DPAA
used dental and
anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to Roland Domanig, Armin and Lena Kanetscheider, the
Italian Carabinieri, the mayor and local government
of Sarentino, Italy, and
the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this
mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000
died during the war. Currently there are 72,643 still unaccounted for from
World War II with approximately 30,000 assessed as possibly recoverable.
Twedt's name is recorded on the Tablets of the
Missing at Florence American
Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta,
Italy,
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.
For family contact information, contact the Navy Service Casualty Office at
(800) 443-9298.
Twedt will be buried in Fernly,
Nevada. The date has yet to be determined.
For future funeral information, visit www.dpaa.mil.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social
media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Twedt's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001EhLCAEA3
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and Communications
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St. South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 699-1420
|
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC (USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 13 January, 2020 07:51
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: South Carolina Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
Dear Editor,
Jan. 13, 2020
WASHINGTON- The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Army Cpl. William J. McCollum, 19, of Anderson,
South Carolina,
killed
during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 11, 2019.
(This identification was initially published Sept. 16, 2019.)
In late 1950, McCollum was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, 31st
Regimental Combat Team. He
was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin
Reservoir, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces.
Following the war, his remains could not be recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, 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 McCollum's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR)
analysis.
Today, 7,602 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using
modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that
were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by
American recovery teams or disinterred from unknown graves. McCollum'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 missing from the
Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
For family information, contact the Army Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.
McCollum will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington,
Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social
media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa
or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
McCollum's personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000001zQP1EAM
//////
Respectfully,
Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and Communications
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
241 18th St. South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 699-1420
|
|
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From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC
(USA)
<sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 10 January, 2020 09:23
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Indiana Marine Accounted For From World War II
Dear Editor,
Jan. 10, 2020
WASHINGTON- The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that Marine Corps Pfc. Louis Wiesehan, Jr., 20, of Richmond, Indiana, killed
during World War II, was accounted for on Sep. 23, 2019.
(This identification was initially published Oct. 1, 2019.)
In November 1943, Wiesehan was a member of Company
F, 2nd Battalion, 8th
Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 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.
Wiesehan was killed on the second day of the
battle, Nov. 21, 1943. His
remains were reportedly buried in Division Cemetery on Betio
Island.
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 Wiesehan,
and in October 1949,
a Board of Review declared him
"non-recoverable."
In 2014, History Flight, Inc., a nonprofit organization, located Cemetery
27. Excavations of the site uncovered multiple sets of remains, which were
turned over to DPAA in 2015.
To identify Wiesehan's remains, scientists from
DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
analysis.
DPAA is grateful to the United States Marine Corps for their assistance in
this mission. Additionally, DPAA is appreciative to History Flight,
Inc.,
for their partnership in this mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000
died during the war. Currently there are 72,639 service members still
unaccounted for from World War II with approximately 30,000 assessed as
possibly recoverable. Wiesehan's name is recorded
on the Courts of the
Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others killed or lost in WWII. A
rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted
for.
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