A US Marine veteran, Matthew Heath, 40 (above),
detained in Venezuela on terrorism charges since 2020 has attempted
suicide, according to his family. ...
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the pair
ought to be 'punished' for traveling to the region to fight against
Russian soldiers. Alex Drueke and Andy Huynh are in captivity...
Almost 70 years
later, Ford's remains were turned over by North Korea on
July 27, 2018. He was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency ...
The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Army Staff
Sgt. Casimir Lobacz was accounted for on March 2.
Advertisement. Lobacz was assigned to Company ...
Russia calls their two captured American fighters
'mercenaries' and parade them on TV: Terrified-looking veterans are made to
speak in Russian as their families beg Biden to save them from Putin's
firing squad
A video uploaded on Friday
shows U.S. Army vet Alexander Drueke, 39, and Marine Andy Huynh, 27,
captured by Russian forces and denouncing war
It comes after an undated photo
of the men was uploaded on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday
showing them caught by Kremlin forces
It depicts the men loaded on
the back of a Russian military truck with their hands behind their backs
and is said to be circulating in Russian media
The U.S. State Department is working
to verify the photo, the first of the pair since they went missing on
June 9 after an ambush by Russian soldiers
The men's families have pleaded to
the Biden administration to save them after the men traveled to Ukraine
in April to help fight back the Kremlin invasion
A third American, Marine veteran
Ret. Captain Grady Kurpasi, has also been confirmed missing as the
government has yet to speak with Russia on the matter ...
A highly decorated, recently retired Marine captain is the third
US veteran missing in action during the Ukraine war, his family and
friends have said. Grady Kurpasi — who joined the Marines after
witnessing the Sept. 11 terror attacks while living in New York City — was
last in contact with his loved ones on April 24, a family friend, George
Heath, first
told CNN. Two days later, the Purple Heart vet left his post
to “investigate” sudden “small arms fire,” and Kurpasi radioed his unit that
the Ukrainian military was also opening fire, the family was told.....
An American teacher and former diplomat in his
60s has been sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony after
airport workers found half an ounce (17 grams) of medical marijuana
in his luggage (inset). Marc Fogel (pictured left at the 2018 World
Cup in Russia), an English teacher at the $34,000-a-year
Anglo-American School in Moscow, was detained at Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport in August after Russian border officials
singled his suitcase out for inspection. Fogel was charged with
smuggling and possession of a 'large scale' of narcotics. He pleaded
guilty to charges of smuggling, storing, transporting, manufacturing
and processing narcotic drugs, Russia's Interfax news agency said.
The punitive sentence for the US citizen - who formerly had US
diplomatic status in Russia - is seen as a move by Russia to hold
'legal hostages' for potential swap deals in future....
WASHINGTON—The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
(DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Gunnery
Sgt. Arthur B. Summers, 27, of Poplar,
Montana, ...
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 June, 2022 08:19 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Wisconsin Soldier Accounted For From
World War II
Greetings,
Staff Sgt. Lobacz was accounted for back in March, but
the family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
June 16, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Staff Sgt.
Casimir P. Lobacz, 25, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, killed during World War II,
was accounted for March 2, 2022.
In the early fall of 1944,
Lobacz was assigned to Company E, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th
Infantry Division. The unit was advancing through France as part of what was
unofficially called the Lorraine Campaign. On Sept. 27, Lobacz’s unit was
part of the ground attack on Fort Driant, near Metz. He was reported to have
been killed during the first wave of the assault. However, due to enemy
fire, his body was unable to be recovered. When the fort was attacked a
second time a few days later, Lobacz’s body could not be found.
In April 1947, the American
Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and
recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the
Fort Driant area for Lobacz and others still unaccounted for from the
attack. While local residents were able to confirm a number of bodies had
been recovered from the area, none of the remains could be identified as
Lobacz. The AGRC performed a second search in 1950, but found no further
remains and concluded they had exhausted all possibilities. Lobacz was
declared non-recoverable in February 1951.
DPAA historians have been
conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from the Lorraine
Campaign, and found that an Unknown, X-60 Limey, buried at Lorraine American
Cemetery, an
American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France,
could be associated with Lobacz or two other Soldiers. X-60 was disinterred
in June 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force
Base, Nebraska, for analysis.
To identify Lobacz’s
remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis.
Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Lobacz’s name is recorded on
the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, along with others
still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to
indicate he has been accounted for.
Lobacz
will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The
date has yet to be determined.
For
family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800)
892-2490.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 16 June, 2022 11:25 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Tennessee Soldier Accounted For From
World War II
Greetings,
Tech. Sgt. Thompson was accounted for in November 2021,
but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
June 16, 202
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Tech. Sgt. Ross
H. Thompson, 50, of Maryville, Tennessee, who was captured and died as a
prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Nov. 10, 2021.
In late
1941, Thompson was a member of the Finance Department, U.S. Army Forces Far
East (USAFE), 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. Thompson was among those reported captured when USAFE forces in
Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile
Bataan Death March and then 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, Thompson died Dec.
10, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local
Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery, in Common Grave 917.
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 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt
to identify them. Five of the sets of remains from Common Grave 917 were
identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified
remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) on
Feb. 15 and 16, 1950, as Unknowns.
In March 2018, the remains
associated with Common Grave 917 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA
laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Thompson’s
remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and isotope
analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from
the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Although interred as an
Unknown in MACM, Thompson’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past
70 years by the
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Thompson will be buried in
Kent, Washington. 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 the ABMC
and the United States Army for their partnership in this mission.
Two American fighters have been taken as
prisoners of war in Ukraine, the first since the conflict began.
Robert Drueke (center) and Andy Huynh (left) were taken prisoner by
Russian forces last week on the outskirts of Kharkiv, according to
sources cited by The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday. Drueke, 39, and
Huynh, 27, are both from Alabama. One of their comrades described
losing sight of the pair in a battle last week. Drueke served in the
US Army in Iraq whereas Huynh, a former Marine, has never been in
active combat before. 'We were out on a mission and the whole thing
went absolutely crazy, with bad intel. We were told the town was
clear when it turned out the Russians were already assaulting it.
'They came down the road with two T72 tanks and multiple BMP3s
(armored fighting vehicles) and about 100 infantry. The only thing
that was there was our ten man squad,' said one of their comrades.
...
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Monday the soldier is
Pfc. Sanford Keith Bowen, 26. U.S. Army Pfc. Sanford
Keith Bowen((Source: ...
Historians with
the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said
their scientists used anthropological analysis to identify
Bowen. He was actually accounted ...
Sanford Keith Bowen.
(Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Agency.) ...
From:
DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 13 June, 2022 07:33 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Ohio Soldier Accounted For From World War
II
Greetings,
Pfc. Bowen was accounted
for back in March, but his family only recently received their full briefing
on his identification, which is why this release is going out now.
June 13, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
U.S. Army Pfc. Sanford Keith Bowen, 26, of Ashland, Ohio, killed during
World War II, was accounted for March 21, 2022.
In January 1945, Bowen was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion,
157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. The
unit was attempting to secure terrain near Reipertswiller, France, when it
was surrounded by German forces while being pounded by artillery and mortar
fire. Company I and the four other companies surrounded with it were given
the order to attempt a break-out on Jan. 20, but only two men from Company I
made it through German lines. The rest were either captured or killed. Bowen
was among those killed, but his body could not be recovered because of the
fighting.
Beginning in 1947, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the
organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in
the European Theater, searched the area around Reipertswiller, finding 37
unidentified sets of American remains, but it was unable to identify any of
them as Bowen. He was declared non-recoverable on May 8, 1951.
DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing
from combat around Reipertswiller, and found that Unknown X-6083 St. Avold,
buried at Lorraine American Cemetery, an
American Battle Monuments Commission
site in St. Avold, France, could be associated with Bowen or four other
Soldiers. X-6083 was disinterred in June 2021 and transferred to the DPAA
Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.
To identify Bowen’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis. Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Bowen’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American
Cemetery in Dinozé, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A
rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted
for.
Bowen will be buried July 22, 2022, in Shiloh,
Ohio.
For family and funeral information, contact the
Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
....was able to secure
Afghan-American Mahnaz Safi's release and arrived with her at JFK
Airport on Thursday morning after arranging her safe passage to
Dubai. Safi, an Afghan-American born in New Jersey, decided to
travel to a village in Jowzjan Province in May to distribute
humanitarian aid after raising $18,000. But just three weeks into
her stay local police brought her in for questioning and she was
detained for several days after they found she had no visa. Her
family reached out to Rauf after reading about his months-long
captivity by the Taliban and his work with the Human First
Coalition. After spending 105 days in Taliban captivity Rauf and his
brother were released in April following months of negotiations
by the Biden administration. But when it came to the negotiations to
free Safi, the State Department had no involvement.
...The attack, which left 34 Americans dead and 174
others injured -- two-thirds of the crew in total, according to a press
release organized by the Liberty Veterans Association -- has been veiled in
controversy since it happened, with survivors, and even some
former senior intelligence officials,
pointing to a deliberate bombardment by Israel and a subsequent U.S.
dismissal of the event to pardon its ally....
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 10 June, 2022 08:26 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Montana Marine Accounted For From World
War II
Greetings,
Gunnery Sgt. Summers was accounted for in October 2019,
but we were only recently notified his family received their full briefing
on his identification, which is why this release is going out now.
June 10, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Gunnery
Sgt. Arthur B. Summers, 27, of Poplar, Montana, killed during World War II,
was accounted for on Oct. 17, 2019.
In November 1943, Summers
was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance
on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in
an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at
Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than
2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Summers
was killed on the fourth day of the battle, Nov. 23, 1943. His remains were
reportedly buried in Cemetery 33.
In 1946, the 604th
Quartermaster Graves Registration Company centralized all of the American
remains found on Tarawa at Lone Palm Cemetery for later repatriation.
However, almost half of the known casualties were never found. No recovered
remains could be associated with Summers, and, in October 1949, a Board of
Review declared him “non-recoverable.”
In 2009, History Flight,
Inc., a nonprofit organization, discovered a burial site on Betio Island
believed to be Cemetery 33, which has been the site of numerous excavations
ever since. In March 2019, excavations west of Cemetery 33 revealed a
previously undiscovered burial site that has since been identified as Row D.
The remains recovered at this site were transferred to the DPAA Laboratory
at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
To identify Summers’
remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as
well as circumstantial and material evidence. ummers’ name is recorded on
the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be
placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Summers will be buried in
East Wenatchee, Washington. The date has yet to be determined.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Marine Corps Casualty Office at (866) 210-3421,
option 1.
DPAA is grateful to the
Republic of Kiribati and appreciative to History Flight, Inc., for their
partnership in this mission.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 9 June, 2022 15:15 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Louisiana
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
June 9, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class Houston Temples, 24,
of Varnado, Louisiana, killed during World War II, was accounted for on
April 16, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Temples 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 Temples.
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 Temples.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Temples’ remains, scientists from DPAA used
dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Temples’ 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.
Temples will be buried Dec. 7, 2022, in Bogalusa,
Louisiana.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 8 June, 2022 09:22 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Texas Accounted
For From World War II
Greetings,
Fireman Blaylock was accounted for in July 2019, but
his family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
June 8, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Fireman 3rd Class Clarence A. Blaylock, 20, of
Fort Worth, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 29,
2019.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Blaylock 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
Blaylock.
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 Blaylock.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Blaylock’s remains, scientists from DPAA
used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Blaylock’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.
Blaylock will be buried on Nov. 9, 2022, at the
Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 31 May, 2022 09:25 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Tennessee
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
May 31, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class William Brooks, 19,
of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, killed during World War II, was accounted for
on May 19, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Brooks 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 Brooks.
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 Brooks.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Brooks’ 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.
Brooks’ 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.
Brooks will be buried on July 16, 2022, in Glen Burnie,
Maryland.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
His unit
was attacked by enemy forces, so Thomas' remains could not
be recovered. Thomas was accounted for by the Defense of
POW/MIA Accounting Agency ...
Many of those fallen
airmen were not immediately recovered or identified.
Three-quarters of a century later, the US Department
of Defense's POW/MIA ...
Leonard J.
McNeill of Orlando, Florida, was among the POWs known
to have died in the fire at the Tokyo prison. Krehl told
Newsday he got interested in ...
A forensic
anthropologist, LeGarde has worked for the
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
for 10 years and joined the USS Oklahoma Project
in 2019. She ...
Biden administration officials have asked a Lebanese
general for help securing the freedom of Austin Tice, a journalist
missing in Syria since 2012, as well as five other Americans held in the
Middle East, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanon’s
General Security Directorate, met with Roger Carstens, the U.S. special
envoy for hostage affairs, on May 23 “to discuss U.S. citizens who are
missing or detained in Syria,” ...
Illinois POW/MIA
signs replaced across the state ... The Illinois
Department of Transportation (IDOT) has taken on a
new mission. IDOT is replacing old ...
AS we pause and reflect this Memorial Day weekend, REMEMBER THEM
ALL:
AT LEAST 44,351 military service members have died while on active
duty, OUTSIDE designated combat zones since 1960.
New research suggests at least 1000 are MISSING,
their graves empty, just a cenotaph and their headstones read “In Memory
Of.”
Not knowing is the worst fate of all. No one even cares to look into this
for me, show concern, access records. God!
There has to be some kind of records, someplace.
So I continue to wonder; where, how, why???
Am I asking too much???
Was his life so unimportant?...”
FG,
Sept 2007
They too, made the ultimate sacrifice.
Is anyone looking for them?
More than 140 military
troops from Louisiana who enlisted in the Korean War did not
come home and remain unaccounted for, according to the Defense
POW ...
Jeffrey will share
his experiences as well as the importance of POW
bracelets. “In those days, Americans back home would
wear a bracelet with the name ...
Bridger from the
airport to Park's Magic Valley Funeral Home. According to
the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, more
than 7,600 Americans are still ...
According to
the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency,
Bridger was reported missing in action during the
last night of his unit's stand at the defensive ...
Sharp was
accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency in 2020, after his remains were
identified using anthropological and ...
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 23 May, 2022 11:29 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Iowa Accounted
For From World War II
Greetings,
Petty Officer Breedlove was accounted for in March
2021, but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
May 23, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Fire Controlman 3rd Class Jack A.
Breedlove, 19, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, killed during World War II, was
accounted for on March 1, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Breedlove 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
Breedlove.
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 Breedlove.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Breedlove’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.
Breedlove’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.
Breedlove will be buried on May 31, 2022, at the
Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
Almost
70 years later, Quong's remains were turned over to
the United States by North Korea. He was ultimately
accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA ...
Conceived at the
height of the POW/MIA dispute, which
demanded a full accounting of all American soldiers
who never returned home from the ...
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 19 May, 2022 10:35 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Michigan Airman Accounted For From World
War II
Greetings,
Staff Sgt. Olenik was accounted for back in January,
but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
May 19, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces
Staff Sgt. Adolph “Leonard” Olenik, 19, of Detroit, killed during World War
II, was accounted for Jan. 26, 2022.
In the summer of 1943,
Olenik was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th
Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the
B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Olenik was serving as a gunner crashed as a
result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest
bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of
Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The
remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero
Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova,
Romania.
Following the war, the
American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched
for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American
remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to
identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were
permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming
unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from
Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory
at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Olenik’s
remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and chest
radiograph analysis. Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA
(auSTR) analysis.
Olenik’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.
Olenik
will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. 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 the
American Battle
Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional
Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.
Team members
assigned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Agency (DPAA), sift through dirt on the wet-screen
station alongside local workers during an ...
On July 27,
2018, Hiltibran's remains were turned over by North Korea.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
identified his remains in April of ...
The POW/MIA
agency identified Kyser as from Oklahoma. “His
ultimate sacrifice during the attack on Pearl Harbor
all those years ago still resonates ...
Brian Ahern, medical
personnel assigned to a Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency recovery team, check the pulse of
a local villager during excavation ...
CC: If there is ever a day of commemoration,
a day, when, as one, America pauses, thinks,
thanks, and prays, it is Memorial Day. We
honor our war dead. NP
"We are Americans," a 30 minute Air Force
Academy Tribute to Memorial Day presents
world premiere music, message, and
meaningful locations to assist our national
and personal moments of gratitude and
reflection."
Featuring original music created by the
United States Air Force Academy Band and
narrated by former POW and retired Major
General John Borling, the program is a
powerful reminder of the history of
Decoration Day, now Memorial Day.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 13 May, 2022 13:35 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Iowa Soldier Accounted For From World War
II
Greetings,
May 13, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Merl W.
Holm, 22, of Lake City, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for
April 15, 2022.
In November 1942, Holm was
assigned to the Company K, 3rd Battalion, 126th
Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, deployed in present
day Papua New Guinea. As part of an attempt to neutralize the Japanese
threat to Port Moresby, the Allied center of communications in the area,
Holm’s unit attempted to flank the enemy defensive lines stretched across
the Sanananda Track in northern Papua. Holm was reported as killed in action
on Nov. 26. Holm was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
Following the war, the
American Graves Registration Service (AGRS), the military unit responsible
for investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific
Theater, conducted exhaustive searches of battle areas and crash sites in
New Guinea, concluding their search in late 1948. A number of remains were
found in the area where Holm was killed, but none could be positively
identified as him. He was declared non-recoverable Dec. 19, 1949.
The unidentified remains
from Papua New Guinea were eventually interred as Unknowns at Fort McKinley
Cemetery, now Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an
American Battle Monuments Commission
site in the Philippines.
DPAA predecessor
organizations began researching and recovering service members from Papua
New Guinea in 1995. Years of investigation led to disinterments of two sets
of remains from Manila American Cemetery, X-71 Finschhafen #2 in January
2017 and X-53 Finschhafen #2 in May 2017. Both sets of remains were sent to
the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis. After
an initial assessment, remains from the two sets were consolidated into one
case.
To identify Holm’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.
Holm’s name is recorded on
the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, along
with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his
name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Holm
will be buried on July 9, 2022, in his hometown.
For
family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800)
892-2490.
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine —
Ukraine’s top prosecutor disclosed plans Wednesday for the first war
crimes trial of a captured Russian soldier, as fighting raged in the
east and south and the Kremlin left open the possibility of annexing
a corner of the country it seized early in the invasion.
Prosecutor General Iryna
Venediktova said her office charged Sgt. Vadin Shyshimarin, 21, in
the killing of an unarmed 62-year-old civilian who was gunned down
while riding a bicycle in February, four days into the war....
The Department of Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency works with genealogical societies and
other partners in a mission to “Provide the fullest
possible ...
Champlin Fighter
Museum, Mesa AZ, 1984. Fulfilling Our Nations
Promise, Pilot Accounted For From World War II.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
News ...
His body was recently
identified by the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency, and he will be buried at 1 p.m.
Saturday at the Mount Hope Cemetery in ...
-- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:
FW: DPAA Release - USS West Virginia Sailor
From Mississippi Accounted For From World War II
Date:
Wed, 11 May 2022 16:00:24 -0400
From:
moehog@verizon.net
To:
moehog@verizon.net
Welcome HOME Seaman
1st Class Melton!
At present, more than
81,600
Americans remain missing from WWII, the Korean
War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf Wars/other
conflicts.
Out of the more than 81,600 missing, 75% of the losses are
located in the Indo-Pacific, and over 41,000 of the missing are
presumed lost at sea. moe note – I would like to know if
the Navy considers the majority of the 41,000 ‘LOST AT SEA’ as
MIA or are they casualties? If they ARE MIA, that would be a
major change in Naval policy as well as tradition.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 11 May, 2022 10:21 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS West Virginia Sailor From
Mississippi Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Seaman Melton was accounted for in February 2021,
but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
May 11, 2022
WASHINGTON—The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that
Navy Seaman 1st Class John R. Melton, 23, of Liberty, Mississippi,
killed during World War II, was accounted for on Feb. 1, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Melton 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 Melton.
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 Melton, 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 Melton’s remains,
scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis.
Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Melton’s name is recorded in
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.
Melton will be buried July 9,
2022, in Gloster, Mississippi.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Navy Service 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.
FW: DPAA Release - Louisiana Soldier Accounted
For From Korean War
Date:
Tue, 10 May 2022 17:25:28 -0400
From:
moehog@verizon.net
To:
moehog@verizon.net
Welcome HOME Cpl. Brown!
At present, more than
81,600
Americans remain missing from WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War,
the Cold War, and the Gulf Wars/other conflicts.
Out of the more than 81,600 missing, 75% of the losses are located in the
Indo-Pacific, and over 41,000 of the missing are presumed lost at sea
At the current rate of recovery this POW/MIA Mission could continue for an
additional years. What are your plans to help bring this MISSION to an end?
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs
<dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil> Sent: 10 May, 2022 08:17 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Louisiana Soldier Accounted For From
Korean War
Greetings,
May 10, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Lawrence L.
Brown, 21, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killed during the Korean War, was
accounted for Feb. 14, 2022.
In late 1950, Brown was a
member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry
Division. He was captured by Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces on Nov. 26,
1950, in the vicinity of Kujang, North Korea, when his unit was attacked.
Following the war, returning American prisoners of war reported that Brown
died at Prisoner of War Camp #5. His exact date of death could not be
confirmed, and was recorded as being March 31, 1951, the last day he could
have still been alive based on POW testimonies.
In September 1954, during
Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from
Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp 5, to the United Nations
Command. One set of remains, Unknown X-14725, could not be identified and
was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the
Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In July 2018, the DPAA
proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On
Nov. 18, 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14725 as part of Phase Two of
the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory
at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Brown’s remains,
scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and chest radiograph
analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from
the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Brown’s name is recorded on
the American Battle
Monuments Commission’s 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.
Brown will be buried in
Prairieville, Louisiana. The date has yet to be determined.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
After research into casualties from the Hwanggon area,
those remains was disinterred Aug. 17, 2017, and
transferred to the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting ...
In her case, even after multiple excavations of the
crash site, the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) was unable to find any
human remains in ...
Nando A. Cavalieri of Eveleth, Minnesota, was killed
in 1945 when “Yankee Gal” was shot down over Berlin.
Courtesy / Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Agency ...
The other three were identified, but Benson was
declared non-recoverable. Benson's son twice sought
another assessment from the former Joint POW/MIA ...
He is among soldiers identified after historians and
anthropologists with the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency began examining unidentified
remains ...
Greg Badeaux, nephew of Army Pvt. Hillary Soileau,
is working with the military and the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency to pay tribute to his ..
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 5 May, 2022 09:47 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Pennsylvania Soldier Accounted For From
World War II
Greetings,
May 5, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pvt. Walter G.
Wildman, 20, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was
accounted for Jan. 26, 2022.
In November 1944, Wildman
was assigned to Company M, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th
Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive when he
was reported killed in action on Nov. 13. Because of the fighting, his body
was unable to be recovered.
Following the end of the
war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with
investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They
conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950,
but were unable to recover or identify Wildman’s remains. He was declared
non-recoverable in December 1951.
While studying unresolved
American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one
set of unidentified remains, designated X-5441 Neuville, originally
discovered by a German demining team and recovered by the AGRC in 1947,
possibly belonged to Wildman. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes
American Cemetery, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA
laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and
identification.
To identify Wildman’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 Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR)
analysis.
Wildman’s name is recorded
on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an
American Battle Monuments Commission site
in Margraten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World
War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Wildman will be buried on
May 23, 2022, in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 4 May, 2022 10:57 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Florida Pilot Accounted For From World
War II
Greetings,
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st
Lt. Newell F. Mills, Jr., 21, of St. Petersburg, Florida, killed during
World War II, was accounted for March 7, 2022.
In the spring of 1945, Mills
was assigned to the 354th Fighter Squadron, 355th
Fighter Group. On April 7, he was piloting a P-51D Mustang fighter on a
mission escorting a formation of B-24 Liberator bombers to a target in
Geesthacht, Germany. Prior to reaching their target, the formation
encountered German fighters near Bremen. Mills and the other escort pilots
turned away from the bombers to engage the Germans. Following the mission,
Mills and his wingman never returned to base, and were never reported as a
prisoner of war. The War Department issued an administrative Finding of
Death on April 8, 1946.
After the war, the American
Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and
recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched for
Mills and, by 1949, believed he had been buried as Unknown X-5904 in what is
now Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission
(ABMC) site in Neuville, Belgium. Based off circumstantial evidence, X-5904
was determined to be Mills, and his family had him permanently buried at
Ardennes.
Between 2004 and 2010, the
investigation into another unaccounted-for pilot led to the discovery that
the remains buried as Mills had been misidentified in the 1940s. This
returned Mills to an unaccounted-for status.
In 2012, German researchers
were investigating a plane crash near Bothmer, Germany, near where Mills’
wingman had been found in 1946. According to witnesses, there was a large
air battle in the area in April 1945. An American airman parachuted into the
Leine River, but was already dead from a gunshot wound when the locals
recovered him. One of the witnesses was shown a picture of Mills and
believed he was the man pulled from the river. Stefan Ilsemann, one of the
German researchers, contacted DPAA in December 2019 and suggested a link
between the two. DPAA historians investigated the case and discovered an
Unknown buried at Ardennes American Cemetery, X-632 Neuville, was the
strongest historical candidate for Mills. DPAA and ABMC disinterred X-632 in
July 2021 and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force
Base, Nebraska, for analysis.
To identify Mills’ 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.
Mills’ name is recorded on
the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, along with others
still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to
indicate he has been accounted for.
Mills
will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The
date has yet to be determined
For
family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800)
892-2490
She described her own family's struggle to locate her uncle,
who was declared MIA in 1951, during the Korean War.
In the ensuing years, her uncle's ...
Badeaux is working with the military and the
Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Agency to coordinate his uncle's final
arrangements. Advertisement.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 2 May, 2022 09:36 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Ohio Soldier Accounted For From Korean
War
Greetings,
Pfc. Lilley was accounted for in November 2021, but his
family only recently had their full briefing on his identification, which is
why this release is going out now.
May 2, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. Jack E.
Lilley, 19, of Waldworth, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was accounted
for Nov. 5, 2021.
In July 1950, Lilley was a
member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 34th
Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported
missing in action on July 20 after his unit was forced to retreat from the
vicinity of Taejon, South Korea. He was never found, nor were any remains
recovered that could be identified as Lilley. He was declared
non-recoverable in January 1956.
Seven sets of remains were
recovered from a common grave a few miles east of Taejon in March 1951. Six
of the sets were able to be identified. The lone unidentified set was
designated Unknown X-769 Tanggok and were later transported with all of the
unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In July 2018, DPAA
historians and anthropologists proposed a plan to disinter and identify the
652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl. X-769 was disinterred
July 15, 2019, as part of Phase 2 of the Korean War Identification Project
and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,
Hawaii.
To identify Lilley’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.
Lilley’s name is recorded on the
American Battle Monument Commission’s Courts
of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing
from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate
he has been accounted for.
Lilley will be buried June
14, 2022, in Westerville, Ohio.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 2 May, 2022 10:19 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Ohio Soldier Accounted For From Korean
War
Greetings,
Pfc. Sharp was accounted for in December 2020, but his
family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
May 2, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. Chauncey
(William) J. Sharp, 18, of Osborn, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was
accounted for Dec. 22, 2020.
In July 1950, Sharp was a
member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry
Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in
action on July 24 after his unit sustained heavy casualties while defending
against the North Korean army’s advance near Hwanggon, South Korea. His body
was not recovered because his unit for forced to retreat, nor were any
remains found that could be identified as Sharp. He was declared
non-recoverable in January 1956.
A graves registration team
from Sharp’s unit investigated the area where he was lost on Oct. 12, 1950,
and found several sets of remains, including one later designated Unknown
X-8 Taejon. However, X-8 could not be identified despite several attempts
over the next four years. The remains were later transported with all of the
unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu,
Hawaii.
In March 2017, after
extensive research into casualties from the Hwanggon area, DPAA historians
and anthropologists requested Unknown X-8 be disinterred in order to undergo
DNA analysis. X-8 was disinterred Aug. 17, 2017, and transferred to the DPAA
Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
To identify Sharp’s remains,
scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Sharp’s name is recorded on
the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are
still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name
to indicate he has been accounted for.
Sharp will be buried May 20,
2022, in Dayton, Ohio.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
He was posthumously
awarded the Medal of Honor, United States'
highest military award for valor. After the war
ended, all American remains from the ...
Oscar's photo sits on
the POW/MIA remembrance table in our
Legion Hall where we have acknowledged him, spoken
his name and remembered him.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public
Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil> Sent: 28 April, 2022 14:20 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From
Minnesota Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Seaman Nigg was accounted for in April 2021, but
his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
April 28, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Laverne A. Nigg,
23, of Browns Valley, Minnesota, killed during World War II, was
accounted for on April 22, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Nigg was assigned to the
battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl
Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS
Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly
capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen,
including Nigg.
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 Nigg.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel
exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for
analysis.
To identify Nigg’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 (auDNA) analysis.
Nigg’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.
Nigg will be buried on June 4, 2022, in his
hometown.
For family and funeral information, contact the
Navy Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public
Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil> Sent: 28 April, 2022 10:50 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Medal Of Honor Pilot Accounted
For From World War II
Greetings,
April 28, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air
Forces Lt. Col. Addison E. Baker, 36, of Chicago, killed during World
War II and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, was accounted for
April 8, 2022.
In the summer of 1943,
Baker was the commander of the 328th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air
Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, Baker was piloting a B-24 Liberator bomber
during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest World War II bombing mission
against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest,
Romania. During its bombing run, his plane was hit by enemy
anti-aircraft fire and crashed, but not before he dropped his bombs on
the target and avoided crashing into the other B-24s in his formation.
Baker’s remains were not identified following the crash. Remains that
could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of
the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova,
Romania.
Following the war, the
American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that
searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all
American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC
was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and
those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery
and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began
exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen
from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA
Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and
identification.
To identify Baker’s
remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as
circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Baker’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.
The
date and location of Baker’s funeral have 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.
Medal of
Honor recipient Lt. Col.
Addison Earl Baker led his squadron to the target
after the loss of the unit's navigator on Aug. 1,
1943, even after ...
But the body was
never recovered. His remains were identified earlier
this year by the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency. North Korea transferred the ...
LONDON — The family
of a former British Army soldier allegedly captured by Russian
forces while fighting in the Ukrainian resistance have called on
his captors to treat him as a prisoner of war in accordance with
international rules. Footage on Russian television appeared to
show Shaun Pinner, 48, in captivity, saying he was captured in
Mariupol while fighting with the Ukrainian marines...
... Republic of Korea returned to the
U.S. in 2018, according to the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency, part of the U.S. Department of
Defense.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 19 April, 2022 08:39 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS California Sailor From Michigan
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Seaman Simmons was accounted for last November, but his
family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
April 19, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Tceollyar Simmons, 18,
of Detroit, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Nov. 18, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Simmons was assigned to the battleship
USS California, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when
the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS California
sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and
slowly flood. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 104 crewmen,
including Simmons.
From December 1941 to April 1942, 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 39 men from the USS
California at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified
remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as
the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified the
25 Unknowns who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including
Simmons.
In 2018, DPAA personnel exhumed the 25 USS
California Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Simmons’ remains, scientists from DPAA used
dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Simmons’ name is recorded on the
American Battle Monuments Commission’s
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.
Simmons will be buried on June 14, 2022, in Hacoda,
Alabama.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 19 April, 2022 10:24 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Ohio Accounted
For From World War II
Greetings,
Petty Officer Hoffman was accounted for in September
2020, but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
April 19, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Musician 1st Class Joseph
W. Hoffman, 24, of Chillicothe, Ohio, killed during World War II, was
accounted for on Sept. 8, 2020.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Hoffman 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 Hoffman.
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 Hoffman.
Between June and November 2015,
DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl
for analysis.
To identify Hoffman’s remains,
scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists
from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y
chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Hoffman’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.
Hoffman will be buried Aug. 26,
2022. The exact location has yet to be determined.
For family and funeral information,
contact the Navy Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 18 April, 2022 08:48 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Louisiana Soldier Accounted For From
World War II
Greetings,
Pvt. Soileau was accounted for in December 2020, but
his family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
April 18, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Army Pvt. Hillary Soileau, 23, of Bunkle, Louisiana,
killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 8, 2020.
In January 1943, Soileau was a member of Company F, 2nd
Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry
Division, when American forces went on the offensive to clear Guadalcanal of
Japanese forces. Soileau was wounded on Jan. 14 during fighting on a group
of hills nicknamed Galloping Horse. However, following the battle, he could
not be found. After an extensive search of field hospitals, aid stations,
and the battlefield, Soileau was declared missing in action on Feb. 3. He
was officially declared killed in action on Dec. 13, 1945.
On Feb. 22, 1943, two unidentified bodies from the 27th
Infantry Regiment, later designated Unknown X-50 Guadalcanal and Unknown
X-52 Guadalcanal, recovered from the battlefield near the head of Galloping
Horse, were buried at the Army, Navy, and Marine Cemetery on Guadalcanal. In
December 1947 and January 1948, those buried at Guadalcanal cemeteries were
exhumed and transported to Hawaii. Unknown X-50 was identified there, but
X-52 was not and was subsequently buried at the National Memorial Cemetery
of the Pacific in Honolulu.
After thorough historical research, it was determined
that X-52 was most likely Soileau. Unknown X-52 was disinterred in April
2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,
Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Soileau’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.
Soileau’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing
at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, along with
the others who are still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed
next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Soileau will be buried May 21, 2022, in Washington,
Louisiana.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army
Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 15 April, 2022 12:26 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - West Virginia Soldier Accounted For From
Korean War
Greetings,
Cpl. Mitchem was accounted for in February 2021, but
his family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
April 15, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Paul Mitchem,
20, of Avondale, West Virginia, killed during the Korean War, was accounted
for Feb. 11, 2021.
In July 1950, Mitchem was a
member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry
Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in
action on July 7 after his unit sustained heavy casualties while defending
against the North Korean army’s advance near Ch’onan, South Korea. His body
was not recovered because his unit was forced to retreat, nor were any
remains found that could be identified as Mitchem. The Army issued a
presumptive finding of death in December 1953, and he was declared
non-recoverable in January 1956.
Shortly after recapturing
territory around Ch’onan, remains were recovered in October 1950 and
designated X-22 Taejon. X-22 was unable to be identified by American Graves
Registration Service and was determined unidentifiable in August 1954. The
remains were later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War
remains and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the
Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In June 2019 during Phase 2
of the Korean War Disinterment Project, X-22 was disinterred from the
Punchbowl as part of the planned exhumation of all 53 burials originating
from the United Nations Military Cemetery Taejon, and transferred to the
DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii for analysis.
To identify Mitchem’s
remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis.
Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Mitchem’s name is recorded
on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are
still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name
to indicate he has been accounted for.
Mitchem will be buried at
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be
determined.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (KCRG)
- On Thursday, the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPPA) announced that 20-year-old Navy
Seaman 1st Class David F.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 14 April, 2022 09:59 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From California
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Petty Officer Stewart was accounted for in December
2020, but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now. Unfortunately,
we do not have any photos of him.
April 14, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Machinist’s Mate
2nd Class Everett R. Stewart, 22, of Anderson, California, killed
during World War II, was accounted for on Dec. 8, 2020.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Stewart 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 Stewart.
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 Stewart.
Between June and November
2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the
Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Stewart’s
remains, scientists from DPAA dental and anthropological analysis.
Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Stewart’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.
Stewart will be buried on
June 18, 2022, at the NMCP.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Navy Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 14 April, 2022 10:35 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Iowa Accounted
For From World War II
Greetings,
Seaman Tidball was accounted for in March 2021, but his
family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
April 14, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class David F. Tidball, 20,
of Independence, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for on
March 3, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Tidball 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 Tidball.
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 Tidball.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Tidball’s remains, scientists from DPAA
used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y
chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Tidball’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.
Tidball will be buried on May 14, 2022, in his
hometown.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
Medal of
Honor Pilot Accounted For From World
War II (Baker, A.) WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. ...
He was just 20 years
old. Advertisement. North Korea turned Truslow's
remains over on July 27, 2018. He was then accounted
for by the Defense POW/MIA ...
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency said Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class
Harry E. Nichols · Iowa native killed in attack on
Pearl Harbor accounted for ...
Frida Saide, a Swedish aid worker who was
held
hostage by jihadists in Syria in 2014, took the stand at a
Virginia federal court Thursday to testify against one of her
captors, El Shafee Elsheikh.
Nicolas Henin, a French journalist held
hostage for 10 months by ISIS terrorists in Syria, has told a
court how he was made to sing a parody of Hotel California while
in captivity.
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency exhumed their remains for DNA
analysis. Allison's identity was confirmed last
October.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 7 April, 2022 12:32 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Nebraska
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Seaman Pentico was accounted for in Feb. 2021, but his
family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
April 7, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Walter R. Pentico, 17,
of Lexington, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted for on
Feb. 24, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Pentico 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 Pentico.
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 Pentico.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Pentico’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.
Pentico’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.
Pentico will be buried on April 29, 2022, at the
Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
A formation of 20
flags symbolized a flight made up of POW/MIA
personnel and was placed between two Team Dover
20-man flights. (Roland Balik/U.S. Air ...
The U.S. Army has
granted a Maryland military veteran the Prisoner of War medal, bringing
to an end a battle he has fought with the Army's bureaucracy for 18
years and opening the door for other ex-soldiers who have been denied
the award under circumstances similar to his.
Ron Dolecki, 76, was part of a U.S. Army team
carrying out a classified mapping mission in Ethiopia in 1965 when armed
guerrillas ambushed him, his helicopter pilot and a local translator,
forced them to march 155 miles across the Sahara desert, and held them
captive under harsh conditions for two weeks....
Network Note: Per
D. Mears, the Navy approved the sailor held in same incident as above, as
well as Army former Specialist David Strickland. We thank and salute the
efforts of Mr Mears in pursuing these cases. Recognition and Justice were a
long time coming... again.
The recognition of
POW/MIA soldiers was an especially
poignant moment in the evening, as attendees
observed cadets performing the Missing Man Table ...
... the unidentified
46 plots at National Memorial Cemetery of the
Pacific known as Punchbowl, the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency said Tuesday.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 31 March, 2022 09:16 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: Ohio Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Pfc. Groh was accounted for last July, but his family
only recently received their full briefing on his identification, which is
why this release is going out now.
March 31, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. William L.
Groh, Jr., 22, of Tiffin, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted
for July 9, 2021.
In November 1944, Groh was
assigned to Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th
Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive, near
Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported wounded in action on Nov. 13. This
was also the last day his unit saw him. German forces never listed him as a
prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on
Nov. 14, 1945.
Following the end of the
war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with
investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They
conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950,
but were unable to recover or identify Groh’s remains. He was declared
non-recoverable in September 1951.
While studying unresolved
American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one
set of unidentified remains, designated X-5437 Neuville, originally
discovered by a German forester and recovered by the AGRC in 1947, possibly
belonged to Groh. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American
Cemetery, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at
Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Groh’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.
Groh’s name is recorded on
the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American
Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, along with the others
still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name
to indicate he has been accounted for.
Groh will be buried in
Phoenix, Arizona. 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 the
American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional
Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.
A highlight of
the reunion was the POW/MIA
symposium March 25 at Fleenor Auditorium, which
featured the stories and reflections from POWs
who shared ...
The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced
Tuesday that Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class
George Gilbert's remains were identified through
dental, ...
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency revealed that the remains of 2nd Lt.
Eugene P. Shauvin were identified earlier this month.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 29 March, 2022 10:03 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From Indiana
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Petty Officer Gilbert was accounted for in Aug. 2020,
but his family only recently received their full briefing on his
identification, which is why this release is going out now.
March 29, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Fire Controlman 2nd
Class George Gilbert, 20, of Indianapolis, killed during World War II, was
accounted for on Aug. 24, 2020.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Gilbert 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 Gilbert.
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 Gilbert.
Between June and November 2015,
DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for
analysis.
To identify Gilbert’s remains,
scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally,
scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Gilbert’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.
Gilbert will be buried June 6,
2022, at the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information,
contact the Navy Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs
<dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil> Sent: 29 March, 2022 11:43 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - USS Oklahoma Sailor From California
Accounted For From World War II
Greetings,
Seaman 1st Class Newton was accounted for
last October, but his family only recently received their full briefing of
his identification, which is why this release is going out now.
March 29, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class Wilbur F. Newton, 29,
of San Leandro, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for on
Oct. 12, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Newton 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 Newton.
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 Newton.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed
the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Newton’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Newton’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.
Newton will be buried May 28, 2022, in Mound City,
Missouri.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy
Service 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.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 29 March, 2022 10:41 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Soldier Accounted For From World War II
Welcome HOME Staff
Sargent Helms!
Greetings,
Staff Sgt. Helms was accounted for last July, but his
family only recently received their full briefing on his identification,
which is why this release is going out now.
March 29, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Staff Sgt.
Gerald R. Helms, 29, of Chicago, killed during World War II, was accounted
for July 26, 2021.
In the fall of 1944, Helms
was assigned to Company E, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd
Airborne Division. He was reported missing in action near Katerbosch,
Netherlands, during Operation MARKET GARDEN after he failed to return from a
lone scouting mission Oct. 2. His body was never found by his unit, and
there was no evidence he had ever been captured. A presumptive finding of
death was issued Oct. 3, 1945.
Following the war, the
American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched
for and recovered fallen American personnel, conducted several searches of
the area, but by 1950, none of the remains found around Katerbosch could be
identified as Helms. He was declared non-recoverable in October 1950.
In 2015, DPAA historians
began working on a comprehensive research and recovery project focused on
those missing from Operation MARKET GARDEN, but none of the disinterred
remains could be identified as Helms. However, in October 2019, a Dutch
citizen digging a trench in the front yard of a home in Katerbosch came upon
human remains and military artifacts. The Royal Netherlands Army’s Recovery
and Identification Unit (RIU) excavated the site on Oct. 30. They conducted
a full anthropological analysis of the remains and historical analysis of
the material items, including Helms’ identification tags, and recovery
location. The RIU concluded the remains belonged to Helms. These remains and
evidence were then transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force
Base, Nebraska, for further examination and identification.
To identify Helms’ 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.
Helms’ name is recorded on
the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, an
American Battle
Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands, along with
others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to
indicate he has been accounted for.
Helms
will be buried in Elwood, Illinois. 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 the
Dutch government and the Royal Netherlands Army’s Recovery and
Identification Unit for their partnership in this mission.
... previous attempts to
locate his remains at the crash site in Belgium were
unsuccessful, the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency said Tuesday.
Wreathes across America announces a new project in Maine - FLAGPOLE OF
FREEDOM PARK - will have flagpole 1776 feet above sea level, taller than
Empire State Building, flying worlds largest USA Flag. Park will include
EVERY veteran's name possible whether KIA, MIA, returned alive,
and since deceased. Names of donors will noted at park.
Watch for launch news on Thursday.
U.S. man detained by Russians forces while
fleeing Ukrainian city is released
Tyler Jacob, a Minnesota man who was living
in Ukraine, was held for 10 days in Russia while trying to leave Kherson,
Sen. Amy Klobuchar said....
Tyler Jacob, 28, who was living in Ukraine, was taken by
Russian forces around two weeks ago, her office said in a statement.
“I am relieved that Tyler is safely reunited with his
wife and daughter. Over the last two weeks, my team and I have been in close
contact with his family, the State Department, and the U.S. embassy in
Moscow working towards this outcome, and I am grateful that we were able to
help bring him to safety,” Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said in a statement....
— The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) says it has identified the
remains of a Spokane pilot killed during World War
II. U.S. Army Air Forces ...
Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency officials said in a media release
Allison was 21 when he died in the attack on the
battleship USS Oklahoma.
From: DPAA NCR OC Mailbox Public Affairs <dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil>
Sent: 24 March, 2022 12:32 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Kansas Soldier Accounted For From World
War II
Greetings,
Pvt. Barrow was accounted for in January 2020, but his
family only recently had their full briefing on his identification, which is
why this release is going out now.
March 24, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Pearl
F. Barrow, 36, of Wichita, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted
for Jan. 9, 2020.
In November 1944, Barrow was
assigned to Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th
Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near
Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported as killed in action on Nov. 20.
Because of the fighting, his body was unable to be recovered.
Following the end of the
war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with
investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They
conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950,
but were unable to recover or identify Barrow’s remains. He was declared
non-recoverable in December 1951.
In 2017, while studying
unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined
that one set of unidentified remains found in 1948 possibly belonged to
Barrow. A business card with “Guaranteed Roofing Co., 832 Indiana” had been
found with the remains. While Barrow was not from Indiana, the address
listed for his wife in his Report of Death was 832 Indiana, Wichita, Kansas.
The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950,
were disinterred in August 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt
Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.
To identify Barrow’s
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.
Barrow’s name is recorded on
the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an
American Battle Monuments Commission site
in Margraten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World
War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Barrow 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 the
American Battle Monuments Commission and
to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in
this mission.
From: Everette, Sean P SFC USARMY DPAA OC
(USA) <sean.p.everette.mil@mail.mil> Sent: 24 March, 2022 13:27 To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: DPAA Release - Kentucky Soldier Accounted For From
Korean War
Greetings,
March 24, 2022
WASHINGTON—The Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Donald L.
Menken, 21, of Whitesburg, Kentucky, killed during the Korean War, was
accounted for Feb. 2, 2022.
In June 1953, Menken was a
member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry
Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in
action after being wounded by artillery shell fragments on June 10 while his
unit was guarding Outpost Harry, a position on the main road to Seoul in
what is now the Demilitarized Zone. He was never found, nor were any remains
recovered that could be identified as Menken. He was declared killed in
action on June 11, 1954, and non-recoverable in January 1956.
The American Graves
Registration Service Group (AGRSG) was tasked with recovering and
identifying remains from the Korean War. The AGRSG went to Outpost Harry to
supervise evacuation of the dead. During this time, they did not find any
remains that could be identified as Menken. He was also not among the POWs
returned during Operation BIG SWITCH in the late summer of 1953 nor among
the remains identified from those returned during Operation GLORY in the
fall of 1954. However, the AGRSG did find a set of remains that were
designated as Unknown X-6039 after they could not be identified. X-6039 was
later transported with all unidentified Korean War remains and buried as
Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the
Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In July 2018, DPAA
historians and anthropologists proposed a plan to disinter and identify the
652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl. X-6039 was disinterred
Jan. 28, 2019, as part of Phase 1 of the Korean War Identification Project
and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,
Hawaii.
To identify Menken’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.
Menken’s name is recorded on
theAmerican
Battle Monument Commission’s Courts of the
Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from
the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
Menken will be buried May
14, 2022, in Ermine, Kentucky.
For family and funeral
information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
ICYMI: 60th
Anniversary of the Disappearance of Flying Tiger
Line Flight 739
On March 16,
2022, WAA commemorated the 60th anniversary of
the disappearance of Flying Tiger Line Flight
739 at the monument dedicated to the 93 soldiers
and 11 flight crew members lost that day, and
all their families who were left behind.
The inscription
on the Monument reads:
“Missing in
action; Presumed dead. Flying Tiger Line Flight
739 went missing on March 16, 1962, with 93 U.S.
Army soldiers on board. These men and their
flight crew perished in what would become one of
the biggest aviation mysteries out of the
Vietnam War era.
THE NAMES OF
THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AND WHO REMAIN
MISSING ARE INSCRIBED HERE SO THAT THEY WILL BE
SAID ALOUD AND THEIR MEMORY WILL LIVE ON.”
Edward 'Pete' Hewitt Benson Jr., 22, of
Roanoke, Virginia, (left) was officially identified on March 10 by
the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA...
According to a news
release from the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency, for the first time, the military was
able to positively identify the remains ...