“HONOR THE DEAD BY HELPING THE LIVING”
Today, the DPAA is focused on the research, investigation,
recovery, and identification
of the approximately 34,000 (out of approximately 83,000 missing DoD personnel)
believed to be recoverable, who were lost in conflicts
from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
March 03, 2017
KHAMMOUANE, Laos --
With
1,614 service members missing in action from the Vietnam War, the Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) deploys hundreds of service members,
DoD civilians, and contractors all over the world in hopes of returning our
nation’s fallen heroes.
Recently a team of 59 personnel completed DPAA’s second Laos mission of fiscal
year 2017, covering the Central East region of Laos. From rice patties to
mountainsides,
the teams excavated thousands of square meters of land recovering important
evidence relating to missing servicemen lost during the war.
“I’m
very honored to have been part of this initiative to bring our missing home,”
said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Walgenbach,
recovery non-commissioned officer. “This mission has been the most unique part
of my 13 year career in the military and I know others feel the same way.”
Every
team member plays an important role in mission success. Whether that is the
recovery non-commissioned officer setting up the sites,
or the recovery leader collecting scientific data, working together ensures
nothing is overlooked and the safety of the team remains number one priority.
Due
to the efforts of the teams, Laos representatives handed over possible remains
to the U.S. to be repatriated and welcomed back on American soil after 48 years.
Upon arrival the possible remains will be transported to DPAA’s laboratory for
examination and possible identification.
“During this mission I have worked along side some of the greatest men and women
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting,
and being chosen for the repatriation ceremony was a perfect way to end such a
great mission,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Brod,
recovery non-commissioned officer. “It is truly an honor to be bringing closure
to the families of our fallen service members.”
The
hard work and continued dedication of these teams makes it possible for DPAA to
fulfill our nations promise and
provide fullest possible accounting for our missing service members to their
families and the nation.
U.S. Navy
Petty Officer 1st Class Ameil Fredeluces, edic, and U.S. Marine Corps. Staff
Sgt. Eddie Ludwig, explosive ordinance disposal technician,
remove dirt from units during excavation operations as part of the Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos,
January 29, 2017. Recovery Team Three executed excavation operations in
search of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots who crashed while on a visual
reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over 48 years ago. DPAA’s mission
is to provide the fullest possible accounting
for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.
Members of
the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency dig units during excavation operations as
part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s
mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos, January 26, 2017. Recovery Team Three
executed excavation operations in search of two missing
U.S. Air Force pilots who crashed while on a visual reconnaissance mission
during the Vietnam War over 48 years ago. DPAA’s mission is to provide the
fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the
nation.
Jack Kenkeo,
life support investigator, shovels dirt from the screening stations during
excavation operations as part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s
mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos, January 23, 2017. Recovery Team Three
executed excavation operations in search of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots
who crashed while on a visual reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over
48 years ago.
DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing
personnel to their families and the nation.
U.S. Army
Staff Sgt. Francis Sangiamvongse, linguist, screens soil with local villagers
during excavation operations as part of the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency’s mission in the Khammouane Province, Laos, January 29, 2017.
Recovery Team Three executed excavation operations in search
of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots who crashed while on a visual
reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over 48 years ago.
DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing
personnel to their families and the nation.
Lynn Rakos,
scientific recovery expert, waters hard soil to help with excavation operations
as part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s mission
in the Khammovan Province, Laos, January 23, 2017. Recovery Team three executed
excavation operations in search of two missing U.S. Air Force pilots
who crashed while on a visual reconnaissance mission during the Vietnam War over
48 years ago.
DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing
personnel to their families and the nation.
In March of
2017, Making the effort to thank the troops for what they do out in the field
means everything.
With a DPAA recovery team in Quang Nam Province, two hours west of Da Nang,
Vietnam.
The UW-Madison
story involved
a group of six students and staff members who were part of a team that unearthed
a World War II U.S. fighter aircraft—
and possibly remains of its pilot—in the ground under a farm field in France
this summer.
The team used ground-penetrating radar and a photo taken by a
British reconnaissance plane two days after the May, 1944
crash of the P-47 Thunderbolt flown by 1st Lt. Frank Fazekas.
Search underway for Lakewood, Ohio airman of World War II
Search underway for Lakewood, Ohio airman of World War II.
Divers of the U.S. Defense
POW/MIA
Accounting Agency and Civil Defense of Grado, Italy,
prepare for an exploratory dive on the sunken B-24 bomber.
This B-24 Liberator is the same type of airplane that
Lakewood, Ohio airman Thomas McGraw was flying in when it was shot down and
crashed off the coast of Italy during World War II.
A Missing Air Crew Report details the last flight of the B-24 and nose gunner
Thomas McGraw of Lakewood, Ohio.
B-24 located in Adriatic; Crewmanis bones sought Ught Lakewood Manis remains
crewman Omber crew,am2-2k-28 bold Header from A1.
A skull fragment was recovered at the site of a wrecked B-24 bomber
off the coast of Italy that may contain the remains of
Thomas McGraw,
of Lakewood, Ohio.
An underwater view of the crash site of a B-24 off Grado, Italy.
FINDING ENSIGN HAROLD P. DeMOSS IN THE MUCK AND MIRE
“Seeing
those photos was so overwhelming that I cried like a baby”
said DeMoss’ niece, Judy Ivey. “To see this actually taking place
is not anything I ever really expected.”
Anine-person military team
has been digging up mud four days a week
in the Koolau range in search of a missing World War II pilot whose
fighter crashed in cloud cover during a night training flight.
A bucket-and-pulley system
was set up to move excavated
material to a spot where it can be bundled in tarps for
helicopter transport to Wheeler Army Airfield.
NOTE: The Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery said in a 1948 letter
to the family that “an attempt to recover the remains was
considered impracticable” because the site was 7 miles
from a traveled highway in the mountains.
On Feb. 25, 1944, Duran wasn’t supposed to be on the doomed B-24H
Liberator, nicknamed “Knock it Off.”
Normally a nose turret gunner, Duran was the substitute tail turret gunner on
the flight, replacing the usual tail gunner who had frostbite.
The earth by the headstone next to the church in this tiny mountain village was full of rocks.
Two days of digging under a hot sun had yielded buckets of
gravel, stones the size of men’s fists and many piles of dirt – but no bones.
After 73 years, Sgt. Alfonso O. Duran was still missing.
The family feels a sense of closure regardless of the outcome,
Duran said.
“What a difference it would have made to my father and to my aunt,”
she said, “to know he had died and somebody had buried him and tended the
grave.”
Members of
the recovery team attach a POW flag to the wreckage of the
Tulsamerican, a B-24 Liberator piloted by, Lt. Eugene P. Ford, a Derry Township,
Pa. native,
when it crashed into the Adriatic Sea in 1944.
USS Arizona was
a Pennsylvania-class battleship built
for and by the United
States Navy in
the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th
state's
recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class
of "super-dreadnought"
battleships. Although commissioned in
1916, the ship remained stateside during World
War I.
Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was
one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow
Wilson to
the Paris
Peace Conference.
The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish
War to
represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was
transferred to the Pacific
Fleet and
remained there for the rest of her career.
Aside from a comprehensive modernization in 1929–31, Arizona was
regularly used for training exercises between the wars, including the annual Fleet
Problems
(training exercises). When an earthquake struck
Long Beach, California,
in 1933, Arizona's
crew provided aid to the survivors. Two years later, the ship was featured in a Jimmy
Cagney film, Here
Comes the Navy,
about the romantic troubles of a sailor. In April 1940, she and the rest of the
Pacific Fleet were transferred from California to Pearl
Harbor,
Hawaii, as a deterrent to Japanese
imperialism.
During the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor on
7 December 1941, Arizona was
bombed. After a bomb detonated in a powder magazine, the battleship exploded
violently and sank, killing 1,177 officers and crewmen. Unlike many of the other
ships sunk or damaged that day, Arizona was
irreparably damaged by the force of the magazine explosion, though the Navy
removed parts of the ship for reuse. The wreck still
lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial,
dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, straddles the
ship's hull.
A number of other boats were sunk in the attack, but later
recovered and repaired.
The USS California (BB-44)
lost 100 crew members that morning, after the ship suffered extensive flooding
damage when hit by two torpedoes on the port side.
Both torpedoes detonated below the armor belt causing virtually identical damage
each time.
A 250 kg bomb also entered the starboard upper deck level, which passed through
the main deck and exploded on the armored second deck,
setting off an anti-aircraft ammunition magazine and killing about 50 men.
After three days of flooding, the California settled
into the mud with only her superstructure remaining above the surface.
She was later re-floated and dry-docked at Pearl Harbor for repairs. USS California served
many missions throughout the war,
and was eventually decommissioned in February, 1947.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese bombs fell and
torpedoes slashed through the waters of Pearl Harbor,
causing a devastating amount of damage to the vessels lined up in Battleship Row
in in the dry docks nearby.
Each of the seven battleships moored there suffered some degree of damage, some
far worse than others.
The USS Arizona (BB-39)
and the USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
were completely destroyed. Though the Maryland (BB-46)
was believed by Japan to also have been sunk, she ultimately survived and became
one of the first ships to return to the war.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, ships like the USS Cassin (DD-372),
a Mahan-class
destroyer, suffered what was originally thought to be fatal damage.
While she was extensively damaged during the attack, she was resurrected and
went on to return to service during the remainder of World War II.
The sunken battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) at Pearl Harbor after her fires
were out, possibly on 8 December 1941.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) is inboard. A Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplane (marked
“4-O-3”) is upside down on West Virginia’s main deck.
A second OS2U is partially burned out atop the Turret No. 3 catapult.
In the aftermath of the attacks on Pearl Harbor during World War Two stories emerged of sailors who were trapped in the sunken battleships, some even survived for weeks.
Those who were trapped underwater banged continuously on the side of the ship so
that anyone would hear them and come to their rescue.
When the noises were first heard many thought it was just loose wreckage or part
of the clean-up operation for the destroyed harbor.
However the day after the attack, crewmen realized that there was an eerie banging noise coming from the forward hull of the USS West Virginia, which had sunk in the harbor.
t didn’t take long for the crew and Marines based at the harbor to realize that
there was nothing they could do. They could not get to these trapped sailors in
time.
Months later rescue and salvage men who raised the USS West Virginia found the
bodies of three men who had found an airlock in a storeroom but had eventually
run out of air.
Survivors say that no one wanted to go on guard duty anywhere near the USS West
Virginia since they would hear the banging of trapped survivors all night long,
but with nothing that could be done.
When salvage crews raised the battleship West Virginia six months after the
Pearl Harbor attacks,
they found the bodies of three sailors huddled in an airtight storeroom —
and a calendar on which 16 days had been crossed off in
red pencil.
The USS Oklahoma was on Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. That was the morning that the Japanese Empire attacked the United States by surprise.
The Japanese
used dive–bombers, fighter–bombers, and torpedo planes to sink nine ships,
including five battleships, and severely damage 21 ships.
There were 2,402 US deaths from the attack. 1,177 of
those deaths were from the USS Arizona,
while 429 of the deaths were from the USS Oklahoma.
The crew of the USS Oklahoma did everything they could to fight back. In the first ten minutes of the battle, though, eight torpedoes hit the Oklahoma, and she began to capsize. A ninth torpedo would hit her as she sunk in the mud. 14 Marines, and 415 sailors would give their lives. 32 men were cut out through the hull while the others were beneath the waterline. Banging could be heard for over 3 days and then there was silence.
After the battle, the Navy decided that they could not salvage the Oklahoma due to how much damage she had received. The difficult savage job began in March 1943, and Oklahoma entered dry dock 28 December. Decommissioning September 1, 1944, Oklahoma was stripped of guns and superstructure, and sold December 5, 1946 to Moore Drydock Co., Oakland, Calif. Oklahoma parted her tow line and sank May 17, 1947. 540 miles out, bound from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco. Today, there is a memorial to the USS Oklahoma and the 429 sailors and marines lost on December 7, 1941, located on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The minelayer Oglala technically
didn't suffer a hit on December 7, but a torpedo passed under it and hit the USS
Helena.
The blast from that crippled the old Oglala which
had been built as a civilian vessel in 1906.
The crewmembers took their guns to the Navy Yard Dock and set them up to provide
more defenses.
They also set up a first aid station that saved the lives of West Virginia
crewmembers.
The ship suffered horribly, eventually capsizing and sinking
until just a few feet of the ship's starboard side remained above water.
It was declared lost, and the Navy even considered blowing it up with dynamite
to clear the dock it had sunk next to.
But the decision was made that it could destroy the dock, so the Navy had to
refloat it. At that point, it made sense to dry dock and repair it.
None of the crew of Oglala were killed in the attack, although three received injuries.
Sean Patterson, Armed Forces Medical Examiner System Department
of Defense DNA Quality Management Section DNA Analyst,
replaces U. S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Billy James Johnson's picture background,
signifying him as an identified service member who was previously missing in
action.
Johnson marks the 200th service member to be identified following the December
7, 1941 Pearl Harbor
attack where 429 U.S. Sailors and Marines were killed on the USS Oklahoma
(BB-37).
A
series of large posters hang in the conference room of the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency laboratory located at Offutt Air Base, Nebraska.
The heading on each of the posters states “USS OKLAHOMA.” Underneath the
headings are neat rows of printed rectangular frames.
Each one represents a person who was unaccounted for when the USS Oklahoma was
sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Thanks
to the work of Dr. Brown’s team, the remains of 200 previously unknown crewmen
from the USS Oklahoma
have now been returned to their families for proper burial and their families
have those long-awaited answers.
The story of the USS Oklahoma’s lost crewmen is
an evolving history lesson that began on what
President Franklin D. Roosevelt called
“a date that will live in infamy.”
LIST OF USS OKLAHOMA IDENTIFICATIONS FROM MICHIGAN:
(Please note that in some USS Oklahoma identifications,
the primary next of kin has yet to be notified,
and therefore the names will not be released at this time.)
*Ensign William M. Finnegan, 44, of Bessmer, Mich.
*Seaman 1st Class Robert W. Headington, 19, of Bay City, Michigan
*Machinist's Mate 1st Class Fred M. Jones, 31, of North Lake, Michigan
*Fireman 3rd Class Gerald G. Lehman, 18, of Hancock, Michigan
*Fireman 2nd Class Lowell E. Valley, 19, of Ontonagon, Michigan
It is through this effort that the accounting community
has been able to honor the sacrifices of the USS Oklahoma Sailors and Marines
and their families who pushed for the fullest possible accounting of their loved
ones.
Ford Island
is seen in this aerial view during the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor December
7, 1941 in Hawaii.
(The photo was taken from a Japanese plane.)
Remember
the fallen: In all, 429 people on board the
battleship were killed in the attack.
Only 35 were identified in the years immediately after.
Battleship
USS Oklahoma unturned hull at the bottom of Pearl Harbor
after the devastating Japanese bombing attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
Breakdown by War - Still Unaccounted for/Unreturned Veterans:
WW II 72,579
Korea 7,578
Vietnam 1,586
Cold War 126
Gulf/Other 6
Total 81,775
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
WWII
from MICHIGAN - 2457
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
Korea
from MICHIGAN - 334
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
Cold War
from MICHIGAN - 4
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following
Viet Nam
from MICHIGAN - 48
RECENTLY
FOUND
HEROES in 2021
Army Pvt. Alevin A. Hathaway, 20, Chittenden County, Vermont killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In November 1944, Hathaway was assigned to Company E, 2nd
Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.
His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was killed in action on Nov. 6, though details of his loss are sparse and contradictory.
Hathaway was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on November 7, 1945. Recorded circumstances attributed to: "Missing in action or lost at sea".
Hathaway could not be recovered because of the on-going fighting, and his status was officially recorded on Nov. 7, 1945.
Alevin A Hathaway is buried or memorialized at
Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.
This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.
U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Frank A. Norris, 23, Hunt County, Texas killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, Norris was a pilot assigned to the 345th
Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force.
On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Norris was serving as an engineer crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.
His remains were not identified following the war.
The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns
in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti,
Prahova, Romania.
Navy Chief Machinist’s Mate Class Lada
Smisek, 42, of Cleveland, Ohio, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In 1942, Smisek served at the Naval Ammunition Depot and
Submarine Base in Cavite, Philippine Islands, when Japanese forces invaded.
Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April
9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were taken
prisoner and sent to prisoner of war camps.
Smisek was among those reported captured after
the surrender of Corregidor and held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500
POWs perished in this camp during the war.
Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS)
personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery examined the remains
in an attempt to identify them. Due to the circumstances of the deaths and
burials, the extensive commingling, and the limited identification technologies
of the time, all of the remains could not be identified. The unidentified
remains were interred as “unknowns” in the present-day Manila American Cemetery
and Memorial.
In 2016, the “unknown” remains associated with Common Grave 437
were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis, including one
set, designated X-1473 Manila #2.
To identify Smisek’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.
Smisek’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)
site, along with others missing from World War II. Although interred as an
"unknown" in Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Smisek’s grave was
meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the ABMC. A rosette will be
placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Smisek will be buried on Jan. 29, 2021, at the National Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Airmen
U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Alfred F. Turgeon, 23,
Worcester County, Massachusetts
killed
during World War II, was accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, Turgeon was a pilot assigned to the 344th
Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force.
On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Turgeon was serving as a radio operator 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.
Alfred Freddy Turgeon Jr is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy
Navy Fireman 3rd Class William L. Barnett, 21, Ft. Scott, Bourbon, Kansas killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Barnett 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 Barnett.
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 Barnett, were interred
as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the
Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
To identify Barnett’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.
Barnett’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.
Barnett will be buried May 29, 2021 in his
hometown.
Army Cpl. Roy H. Thomas, 22, Saint Charles, Virginia killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Thomas was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion,
31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
Army Pfc. William J. Sharp, 18, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
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.
Navy Mess Attendant 3rd Class Isaac
Parker, 17, of
Woodson, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Parker 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 Parker.
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 Parker.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Parker’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.
Parker will be buried June 8, 2021 in St. Louis.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Charles A. Jones,
21, of Harvard, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Jones 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 Jones.
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 Jones.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Jones’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Jones’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.
Jones will be buried in his hometown. The date is
yet to be determined.
Marine Corps Cpl. Elmer E. Drefahl, 22, of
Milwaukee, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Drefahl 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 Drefahl.
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 Drefahl.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Drefahl’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.
The date and location for Drefahl’s burial have
yet to be determined by the family.
Army Sgt. Billy V. Rodgers, 19, of
Panama, Oklahoma, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Rodgers was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion,
32nd Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. He
was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by
enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his
remains could not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War.
The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on
Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for
identification.
Rodgers’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who
are still missing from the Korean War.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Rodgers will be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.
December 17
Army Pvt. Hillary Soileau, 23, St Landry Parish, Louisiana killed during World War II, was accounted for.
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, 1945.
He was officially declared killed in action on Dec. 13, 1945.
Hillary Soileau is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.
December 10
Navy Fireman 1st Class Paul E. Saylor, 21, Johnson City, TN was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Saylor 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 Saylor.
December 8
Navy Chief Warrant Officer John G. Connolly, 48,
Savannah,
Georgia
was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Connolly was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
He enlisted in the Navy on October 6, 1913. He served in Russia, China, the Philippines, and on many ships. On March 13, 1926, he was commissioned Chief Pay Clerk.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Connolly.
December 1
Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class Harold F. Trapp, 24, and Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class William H. Trapp, 23, La Porte, Indiana, were killed during World War II, were accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, the Trapp brothers were assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
Overall, 2,335 Americans were killed in the attack, 429,
including
"a date which will live in infamy". The following day, the US Congress declared
war on Japan which led to the United States' formal entry into World War II.
The report said the ship was refloated and salvaged in 1943. Some crewmembers’ remains from the Oklahoma were so badly burned or decayed that identifications were not possible.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Carl S. Johnson,
20, of Phoenix, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Johnson 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 Johnson.
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 Johnson, were interred
as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the
Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
From June through October 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Agency, 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 laboratory for identification.
Johnson’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.
Johnson will be buried Jan. 15, 2021, in his
hometown.
December 1
Chief Carpenter’s Mate Tedd M. Furr, 39, Alabama, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Furr 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 Furr.
Army Staff Sgt. Louis S. Doddo, 30, of
South Norwalk, Connecticut, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In July 1944, Doddo was a member of the 105th Infantry Regiment,
27th Infantry Division. He was killed July 7 during a massive Japanese attack
against the 105th on the island of Saipan.
His remains were not known to have been recovered. The Army issued a finding of
death on July 8, 1945.
The American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) searched for and
disinterred remains throughout the Pacific theater in an effort to identify
fallen service members after the end of the war. Remains identified as Unknown
X-26 were first reported as buried in the 27th Infantry Division Cemetery.
However, the AGRS was not able to identify X-26, and the remains were buried at
the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines on March 30, 1950.
After thorough research, DPAA historians concluded X-26 was
possibly associated with Doddo and four other service members. On Dec. 6, 2018,
Unknown X-26 was disinterred and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
Doddo’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who
are still missing from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Doddo will be buried May 2021 in his hometown.
Navy Bandmaster James B. Booe, 42,
On Dec. 7, 1941, Booe 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 Booe.
Army Cpl. Paul W. Wilkins, 19, Bellwood, Pennsylvania killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In July 1950, Wilkins was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion,
21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on July 11 when his unit was fighting enemy forces near Choch’iwan, South Korea.
He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that could be identified as Wilkins.
The Army declared a presumptive finding of death for Wilkins on Dec. 31, 1953, and he was declared non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.
Navy Coxswain Paul L. Boemer, 21, St. Louis County Missouri killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Boemer 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 Boemer.
Navy Fireman 1st Class Howard D. Hodges, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Hodges 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 Hodges.
Hodges
Pilot
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Earl W.
Smith, 22, of Oakland, California, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, Smith was a pilot assigned to the 80th
Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. On Aug. 20, Smith was
piloting a P-38 Lightning fighter on a test flight near Port Moresby, Australian
Territory of Papua (current day Papua New Guinea), when he crashed into the
harbor off of Paga Point. Smith did not bail out and his body was not recovered.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command, the
organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, searched
the area around Port Moresby several times, concluding their final search on
Dec. 18, 1948. Investigators could not find any evidence that Smith’s remains
had ever washed ashore. He was declared non-recoverable Aug. 17, 1949.
In 2002, recreational divers discovered aircraft wreckage with a
legible radio call sign data plate matching Smith’s P-38 off of Paga Point. In
2014, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Agency (a predecessor organization to DPAA)
evaluated the evidence and approved a recovery mission, but didn’t set a date.
DPAA sent a team to Papua New Guinea at the end of 2018. The team recovered
possible human remains and material evidence that identified the wreckage as the
aircraft piloted by Smith.
Smith’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Philippines, along with others still
missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
Smith will be buried Aug. 20, 2021, at a location
yet to be determined.
Navy Ship’s Cook 1st Class Rodger C. Butts, 47, Los Angeles County, California killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Butts was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Butts.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class James M. Flanagan,
22, of Jacksonville, Florida, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Flanagan 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 Flanagan.
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 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 Flanagan.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Flanagan’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.
Flanagan will be buried on Nov. 6, 2020 at the
NMCP.
Navy Fireman 1st Class Edward D. Johnson, 24, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Johnson 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 Johnson.
Navy Shipfitter 1st Class Charles F. Perdue, 32, Los Angeles County, California killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Perdue 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 Perdue.
There is a cenotaph at both the USS Oklahoma Memorial and the Honolulu Memorial where he is listed as missing.
Perdue
Navy Seaman 2nd Class D.T. Kyser, 18, of
Muskogee, Oklahoma, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Kyser 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 Kyser.
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 Kyser.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Kyser’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.
The date and location for Kyser’s burial have yet
to be decided by the family.
Navy Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Shelby Treadway, 25, Jefferson County, Kentucky killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Treadway 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 Treadway.
Shelby Treadway is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Navy Fire Controlman 1st Class Bernard R. Wimmer, 28, Mercer County West Virginia was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Wimmer 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 Wimmer.
Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class George M. Gooch, 22, Purdin, Linn County, Missouri killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Gooch 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 Gooch.
Navy Fireman 2nd Class Martin D. Young,
21, of Hawesville, Kentucky, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Young 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 Young.
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 Young.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Young’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.
Young’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.
Young will be buried on May 15, 2021, in
Lewisport, Kentucky.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Maurice V.
Spangler, 20, of Defiance, Ohio, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Spangler 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 Spangler.
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 Spangler.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Spangler’s remains, scientists from DPAA
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR)
analysis.
Spangler’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.
Spangler will be buried Sept. 12, 2021 at the
Punchbowl.
Marine Corps Reserve Pvt. Jacob Cruz,
18, of Los Angeles, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In November 1943, Cruz was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion,
6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed
against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa
Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several
days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were
killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually
annihilated.
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 Cruz, 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.
Cruz’s name is recorded in 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.
Cruz will be buried Nov. 13, 2020, in his
hometown.
Marine Pfc. Henry E. Ellis, 22, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Ellis was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st
Service Battalion, 1st Marine Division.
He was killed in action on Nov. 30, 1950, while defending the convoy of which he was a member near Koto-ri, North Korea.
His body was not immediately recovered, though many deceased Marines were later recovered and buried in the United Nations Cemetery at Koto-ri as UN forces withdrew from the area.
Army Cpl. Robert C. Agard, Jr., 19, Chicago, Illinois killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In July 1950, Agard was a member of 2nd Platoon, 24th
Reconnaissance Company, 24th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on July 19 while conducting a night recon patrol with his unit near Taejon, South Korea.
He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that could be identified as Agard.
He was declared non-recoverable in January 1956.
Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class John
M. Mulick, 21, of Elma, Iowa, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Mulick 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 Mulick.
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 Mulick.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Mulick’s remains, scientists from DPAA dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Mulick’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.
The date and location for Mulick’s burial have
yet to be decided by the family.
Navy Fireman 1st Class Louis J. Tushla,
25, of Atkinson, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Tushla 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 Tushla.
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 Tushla.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Tushla’s remains, scientists from DPAA dental and
anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical
Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Tushla’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.
Tushla will be buried July 17, 2021, in his
hometown.
Marine Corps Reserve Pvt. Howard E.
Miller, 22, of San Mateo, California, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In November 1943, Miller was a member of Company A, 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which
landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the
Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over
several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and
Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were
virtually annihilated.
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 Miller, 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 Miller’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Miller’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
Miller died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943.
He was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33.
U.S. Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class
Alton W. Whitson, 22, of Seattle, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Whitson 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 Whitson.
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 Whitson.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS
Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
Whitson’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from WWII.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Whitson will be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in October 2021.
Marine
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. John P. Langan,
18, of Columbus, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In November 1943, Langan was a member of Company C, 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which
landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the
Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over
several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and
Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were
virtually annihilated. Langan died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. He
was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East Division Cemetery, later
renamed Cemetery 33.
In 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company
centralized all of the American remains found on Tarawa at Lone Palm Cemetery
for later repatriation. However, almost half of the known casualties were never
found. No recovered remains could be associated with Langan, 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.
Langan’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Langan will be buried in Platte Center, Nebraska. The date has
yet to be determined.
Army Sgt. Jesse
"Johnny "D.
Hill, 20,
Highland Park, Michigan
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Hill was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 32nd
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on
Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin
Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be
recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald
Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea
turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service
members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into
the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Hill’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) analysis.
Hill’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who
are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name
to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hill will be buried in Holly, Michigan. The date
has yet to be determined.
Airmen
September 25
U.S. Air Force Maj. Paul A. Avolese, 35, East Meadow, N.Y. was killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for.
Major Avolese was a member of the 2nd Bomber Squadron. On July 7,
1967, he was a member of the crew of a Boeing Stratofortress Bomber (B-52D) 20
miles offshore over the South China Sea,
when it collided with another B-52D bomber. His remains were not recovered.
That day, he was part of the crew of a B-52D
Stratofortress bomber conducting a bombing mission from Andersen Air Force Base,
Guam, to a target in Vietnam.
During a maneuver over the South China Sea, Avolese’s bomber collided with another B-52, causing both aircraft to fall into the sea.
Four of the crew members from his aircraft were rescued, but Avolese was never recovered.
He was declared dead on July 24.
Died while Missing, boy not recovered". Incident location: South China Sea.
Army Pvt. Donald A. Fabrize, 17, Cayuga County, New York killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In July 1950, Fabrize was a member of Company B, 19th Infantry
Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.
He was reported killed in action on July 16 during battle defending, then withdrawing from, positions along the Kum River in South Korea.
His remains could not be immediately located or recovered.
The Army deemed Fabrize non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.
Donald A Fabrize is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Alphard S. Owsley, 23, Bourbon County, Kentucky was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Owsley 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 Owsley.
"Missing in action or lost at sea". Incident location: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Army Pfc. Bobbie Ray Daniels, 17, Pike County, Kentucky was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In August 1950, Daniels was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion,
5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Private First Class Daniels listed MIA on
Sept. 16, 1950. He was presumed dead on Dec. 31, 1953
His remains could not be immediately recovered. He was officially declared dead on May 1, 1953.
The ceremony will be Sept. 21 in Estes Plaza at the Memorial in BEDFORD, Va.
Army Pfc. Oliver Jeffers, 31, of
Huntsville, Tennessee, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In November 1944, Jeffers was assigned to Company L, 3rd
Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged
in battle with German forces near Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when
he was killed in action on Nov. 10. Jeffers could not be recovered because of
the on-going fighting.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration
Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel
in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between
1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Jeffers’ remains. He was
declared non-recoverable in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a
DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated
X-2735 Neuville, recovered from a minefield near Germeter in 1946 possibly
belonged to Jeffers. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American
Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in April 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory
at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.
Jeffers’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at
Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in
Margarten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II. A
rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Jeffers will be buried Oct. 7, 2020, in his
hometown.
Pilot
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Gabriel J. Eggud, 25, Queens N.Y. was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the summer of 1944, Eggud was a pilot assigned to the 110th
Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter), 71st Reconnaissance Group.
On July 6, he was piloting a P-39 Airacobra fighter on a combat mission over Wewak, New Guinea, when a released bomb exploded and destroyed his aircraft.
Efforts to recover Eggud’s remains were unsuccessful.
Army Pvt. Warren G.H. DeVault, 24, Rhea County, Tennessee killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In November 1944, DeVault was assigned to Company F, 2nd
Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reportedly killed in action on Nov. 20.
DeVault could not be recovered because of the on-going fighting, and his remains were not recovered or identified.
Warren G H De Vault is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.
Navy Musician 1st Class Joseph W. Hoffman, 24, Lyndon, Ohio was killed during World War II, was accounted for.
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.
Navy Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Harold L.
Dick, 22, of Tipton, Missouri, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On July 24, 1944, Dick was aboard the battleship USS Colorado,
which was moored approximately 3,200 yards from the shore of Tinian Island,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Early in the morning, the USS
Colorado, along with the light cruiser USS Cleveland and destroyers USS Remey
and USS Norman Scott, commenced firing toward the island. Within two hours, a
concealed Japanese shore battery opened fire on the USS Colorado and the USS
Norman Scott. The first hit on the USS Colorado resulted in a heavy explosion,
and the ship sustained extensive fragmentation damage. From the attack, four
crewmen were declared missing in action, and 39 personnel were killed, including
Dick. Dick and the other casualties were subsequently interred in the 4th Marine
Division Cemetery on Saipan.
In February 1948, under the direction of the American Graves
Registration Service’s 9105th Technical Service Unit, three battlefield
cemeteries, including the 4th Marine Division Cemetery, were disinterred. While
the majority of identifications that had been tentatively made following the
attack were upheld, nine sets were reclassified as “unknown.” Of those, five
were eventually identified. The remaining four were interred at the Manila
American Memorial and Cemetery in the Philippines.
To identify Dick’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.
Dick’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.
Dick will be buried Oct. 10, 2020, in his
hometown.
Navy Shipfitter 3rd Class Patrick L.
Chess, 24, of Yakima, Washington, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Chess 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 Chess.
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 Chess.
Chess’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.
Chess will be buried Oct. 22, 2020, in his
hometown.
September 10
U.S. Naval Reserve Ensign Francis C.
Flaherty, 22, of Charlotte, Michigan, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Flaherty 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 Flaherty. Flaherty was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor for saving several crew members at the cost of his own life.
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 Flaherty.
Flaherty’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.
Flaherty will be buried in his hometown. The date
has yet to be determined.
September 8
Athon died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943.
August 31
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Thomas F.
Johnson, 18, of San Jose, California, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In November 1943, Johnson was a member of Company B, 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which
landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the
Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over
several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and
Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were
virtually annihilated.
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 Johnson, 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.
Johnson’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
Johnson will be buried in Igo, California. The date has yet to be
determined.
Navy Coxswain Layton T. Banks, 20, of
Dallas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Banks 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 Banks.
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 Banks.
Banks’ 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.
Banks will be buried Oct. 24, 2020, in Plano,
Texas.
Navy Fireman 1st Class Frank E. Nicoles,
24, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Nicoles 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 Nicoles.
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 Nicoles.
Nicoles’ 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.
Nicoles’ family has yet to decide on a funeral
date or location.
Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class George Gilbert, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
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.
Soldier
Army Sgt. John E. Hurlburt, 26, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In July 1944, Hurlburt was a member of the 105th Infantry
Regiment, 27th Infantry Division.
He was killed July 7 during a massive Japanese attack against the 105th on the island of Saipan.
His remains were not known to have been recovered.
Airmen
U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Charles
G. McMackin, 26, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the summer of 1943, McMackin was assigned to the 68th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force.
On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which McMackin was serving as a bombadier 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.
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Charles D.
Miller, 19, of Albany, Indiana, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In November 1943, Miller was a member of Company A, 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff
Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the
Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of
intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed
and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated.
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 Miller, 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 Miller’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.
Miller’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Miller will be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has not yet been decided on by the
family.
August 10
Army Sgt. James N. Stryker, 20,
In May 1951, Stryker was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion,
23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on May 18, when the enemy attacked his unit near Han’gye, South Korea.
His remains could not be immediately recovered, but he was not officially declared dead until after the Armistice was signed July 27, 1953.
August 6
Marine Corps Sgt. George R. Reeser, 25,
of Washington, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted
for.
In November 1943, Reeser was a member of Company A, 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which
landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the
Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over
several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and
Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were
virtually annihilated.
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 Reeser, 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 Reeser’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Reeser’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
Reeser will be buried Sept. 26 in Deer Creek,
Illinois.
July 21
Army Pfc. Glenn E. Collins, 21, of
Tucson, Arizona, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Collins, was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 1st
Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported
missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces
near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could
not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were
subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Collins’ remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) analysis.
Collins’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who
are still missing from the Korean War.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been
accounted for.
Collins will be buried in his hometown at a date
yet to be decided by the family.
Marine
July 15
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. John E.
Gillen, 20, of Champaign, Illinois, killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
In November 1943, Gillen was a member of Company D, 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which
landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the
Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island.
Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and
Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were
virtually annihilated.
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 Gillen, 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 Gillen’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental
and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Gillen’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing
from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has
been accounted for.
Gillen will be buried Aug. 12, 2020, in his hometown.
U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Alva R. Krogman, 25,
Worland WY.
killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for.
On Jan. 17, 1967, Krogman was a pilot assigned to the 504th
Tactical Air Support Group, 7th Air Force, on temporary duty with the 23rd
Tactical Air Support Squadron operating out of Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air
Force Base, Thailand.
That morning, he was flying an O1-F Birddog aircraft as part of a flight of two planes conducting a visual reconnaissance mission in Savannakhet Province, Laos.
At approximately 8:55 a.m. local time, Krogman’s aircraft
was hit by enemy fire in the left wing and went down.
Search and rescue operations began immediately, but were shut down within a few
hours after one of the search and rescue aircraft was also shot down.
Krogman was never recovered and was declared killed in action on Jan. 31.
Alva Ray Krogman is memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the
Honolulu Memorial
July 9
Army Cpl. Francis J. Rochon, 21, of
Superior, Wisconsin, reported missing in action during the Korean
War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Rochon was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion,
23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action
on Sept. 1, 1950, near Changnyeong, South Korea.
In January 1951, the American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRSG)
consolidated the remains from 12 smaller military cemeteries at the newly
established United Nations Military Cemetery in Tanggok, South Korea, including
one set of remains designated X-175 Tanggok, which had been recovered from the
area where Rochon was last seen. In 1956, the remains, including X-175 Tanggok,
were unable to be identified, and then transported to the National Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu where they
were buried as Unknowns.
DPAA historians and analysts were able to determine that others
buried in the same original, small cemetery as X-175 Tanggok had been lost in
the same area as Rochon, and put forth his name as a possible match. The family
of another Soldier lost during the same battle as Rochon also put in a request
to have X-175 Tanggok and one other Unknown disinterred in hopes one of them
would be their loved one. On Nov. 5, 2018, X-175 Tanggok was disinterred and
sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
To identify Rochon’s remains, scientists from DPAA used
anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally,
scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Rochon’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.
Rochon will be buried July 25, 2020 in Foxboro,
Wisconsin.
Pilot
July 7
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William H. Melville, 20,
Minneapolis, MN.
killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In the fall of 1943, Melville was a pilot assigned to the 36th
Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. On Oct. 28, he was piloting a P-39Q
Airacobra fighter on a combat mission over the island
of New Guinea, Australian Territory of Papua (current day Papua New Guinea),
when his aircraft and two others disappeared after encountering severe weather.
Search and recovery efforts in the days following were unable to find any of the aircraft.
July 2
Army Cpl. Richard L. Henderson, Jr., 18,
Barton, New York
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Henderson was a member of Headquarters Battery,
57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
The Chinese attacked their positions on the evening of December 3 and again overnight on December 5-6. A general withdrawal to Hamhung began on December 6. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
June 25
Navy Fire Controlman 3rd Class Robert T.
Stout, 21, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Stout 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 Stout.
June 23
Marine Corps Pfc. John M. Fahy, 19,
North Sea, N.Y. killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In November 1943, Fahy was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion,
6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed
against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa
Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island.
Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated.
Fahy died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943.
He was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33.
June 23
Army Master Sgt. James L. Quong, 30,
Fort Worth, Texas
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Quong, who was an Army Reserve captain in World War
II but gave up his commission to join the Regular Army as a master sergeant in
the Korean War, was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry
Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
June 16
Army Cpl. Billie Joe Hash, 18, of
Corbin, Kentucky, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Hash was a member of Headquarters Battery, 57th
Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950, when his unit was attacked by
enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his
remains could not be recovered.
North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the
remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains
arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,
Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA
laboratory for identification.
Hash’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who
are still missing from the Korean War.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hash will be buried Aug. 29, 2020, in his
hometown.
June 12
Navy Radioman 3rd Class Irvin F. Rice,
22, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Rice 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 Rice.
June 12
Navy Seaman 1st Class Wesley E. Graham,
21, from Benton Harbor, Michigan was killed during World War II, was
accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Graham was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was
attacked by Japanese aircraft.
The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize.
The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Graham.
Place of Burial: USS Oklahoma Memorial Pearl Harbor Honolulu County Hawaii.
June 12
Navy Seaman 2nd Class James M. Flanagan,
22, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Flanagan 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 Flanagan.
June 9
Army Cpl. Pete Conley, 19
Army Cpl. Pete Conley, 19,
Chapmanville, West Virginia
was
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Conley was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion,
31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953, his remains could not be recovered.
June 8
Navy Radioman 3rd Class Thomas E.
Griffith, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Griffith 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 Griffith.
June 8
Army Sgt. Stanley L. DeWitt, 18,
Royal Center, Indiana was
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, DeWitt was a member of Medical Detachment, 57th
Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
He was listed as Missing in Action while tending his wounded comrades in North Korea on or about December 2, 1950. He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.
June 1
Army Master Sgt. James Hart, Jr., 25, Pickton, Texas and his family lived in Como, Hopkins County, Texas was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Hart was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 32nd
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
June 1
Army 1st Lt. Anthony R. Mazzulla, 26,
Bronx, New York and the family later
lived in Johnston, Rhode Island was
killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Mazzulla was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion,
32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
Chinese roadblocks from Sinhung-ni to Hagaru-ri along with the
constant enemy fire from the surrounding high ground, made the withdrawal route
extremely dangerous.
Eventually, the column was broken into separate segments, which the CCF attacked
individually.
Many men were lost or captured during the moving battle, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3.
He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950,.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
Soldier
May 29
Army Pfc. John J. Sitarz, 19,
West Virginia was
killed during World War II, was accounted for.
In November 1944, Sitarz was assigned to Company L, 3rd
Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.
His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was declared missing in action on Nov. 2.
Sitarz could not be recovered because of the on-going fighting, and his status was changed to killed in action on Nov. 3, 1945.
Army Cpl. R.B. Cherry, 19,
Dallas, Texas
Died While Captured (POW)
during the Korean War, was accounted for.
In late 1950, Cherry was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion,
24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
He was captured by enemy forces on November 27, as his unit attempted to fight their way out of enemy held territory near Unsan, North Korea.
He was marched to a temporary holding camp in the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley, and in January was marched to Camp 5 on the south bank of the Yalu River near Pyoktong.
He died on an unspecified date in 1951, and was buried near the camp.
May 20
Army Sgt. William E. Cavender, 20, Stockbridge, Michigan killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.
On November 27, 1950, the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT),
tasked with replacing the 5th Marine Regiment on the east side of the Chosin
Reservoir in North Korea, arrived at the P'ungnyuri Inlet.
That night, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive surprise attack
against the soldiers and Marines at the inlet.
The 31st RCT managed to repel the numerically superior CCF’s
initial attack; however, the enemy continued to attack over the next two nights.
On December 1, the 31st RCT began its withdrawal from the P'ungnyuri Inlet to
Hagaru-ri.
He was reported missing in action on Nov. 28, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recove