RECENTLY FOUND
 HEROES in 2022

USS West Virgina Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
May 11, 2022 

Navy Seaman 1st Class John R. Melton, 23 

Navy Seaman 1st Class John R. Melton, 23, of Liberty, Mississippi, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Melton was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS West Virginia sustained multiple torpedo hits, but timely counter-flooding measures taken by the crew prevented it from capsizing, and it came to rest on the shallow harbor floor. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Melton.

During efforts to salvage the USS West Virginia, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crewmen, representing at least 66 individuals. Those who could not be identified, including Melton, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

From June through October 2017, DPAA, in cooperation with cemetery officials, disinterred 35 caskets, reported to be associated with the USS West Virginia from the Punchbowl and transferred the remains to the DPAA laboratory.

Melton’s name is recorded in the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Melton will be buried July 9, 2022, in Gloster, Mississippi.

Currently there are 72,309 service members still unaccounted for from World War II.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
May 10, 2022

Army Cpl. Lawrence L. Brown, 21

Army Cpl. Lawrence L. Brown, 21, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In late 1950, Brown was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces on Nov. 26, 1950, in the vicinity of Kujang, North Korea, when his unit was attacked. Following the war, returning American prisoners of war reported that Brown died at Prisoner of War Camp #5. His exact date of death could not be confirmed, and was recorded as being March 31, 1951, the last day he could have still been alive based on POW testimonies.

In September 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp 5, to the United Nations Command. One set of remains, Unknown X-14725, could not be identified and was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On Nov. 18, 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14725 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Brown’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu,
along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Brown will be buried in Prairieville, Louisiana. The date has yet to be determined.

Today, 7,538 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.

Army Pvt. Walter G. Wildman, 20, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In November 1944, Wildman was assigned to Company M, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive when he was reported killed in action on Nov. 13. Because of the fighting, his body was unable to be recovered.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Wildman’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5441 Neuville, originally discovered by a German demining team and recovered by the AGRC in 1947, possibly belonged to Wildman. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

To identify Wildman’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Wildman’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands,
along with the others still missing from World War II.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Wildman will be buried on May 23, 2022, in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Pilot  killed From World War II Accounted For
May 4, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Newell F. Mills, Jr., 21

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Newell F. Mills, Jr., 21, of St. Petersburg, Florida, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the spring of 1945, Mills was assigned to the 354th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group. On April 7, he was piloting a P-51D Mustang fighter on a mission escorting a formation of B-24 Liberator bombers to a target in Geesthacht, Germany. Prior to reaching their target, the formation encountered German fighters near Bremen. Mills and the other escort pilots turned away from the bombers to engage the Germans. Following the mission, Mills and his wingman never returned to base, and were never reported as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued an administrative Finding of Death on April 8, 1946.

After the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched for Mills and, by 1949, believed he had been buried as Unknown X-5904 in what is now Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) site in Neuville, Belgium. Based off circumstantial evidence, X-5904 was determined to be Mills, and his family had him permanently buried at Ardennes.

Between 2004 and 2010, the investigation into another unaccounted-for pilot led to the discovery that the remains buried as Mills had been misidentified in the 1940s. This returned Mills to an unaccounted-for status.

In 2012, German researchers were investigating a plane crash near Bothmer, Germany, near where Mills’ wingman had been found in 1946. According to witnesses, there was a large air battle in the area in April 1945. An American airman parachuted into the Leine River, but was already dead from a gunshot wound when the locals recovered him. One of the witnesses was shown a picture of Mills and believed he was the man pulled from the river. Stefan Ilsemann, one of the German researchers, contacted DPAA in December 2019 and suggested a link between the two. DPAA historians investigated the case and discovered an Unknown buried at Ardennes American Cemetery, X-632 Neuville, was the strongest historical candidate for Mills. DPAA and ABMC disinterred X-632 in July 2021 and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

Mills’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, along with others still missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Mills will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
May 2, 2022

Army Pfc. Chauncey (William) J. Sharp, 18

Army Pfc. Chauncey (William) J. Sharp, 18, of Osborn, Ohio, 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 was forced to retreat, nor were any remains found that could be identified as Sharp. He was declared non-recoverable in January 1956.

A graves registration team from Sharp’s unit investigated the area where he was lost on Oct. 12, 1950, and found several sets of remains, including one later designated Unknown X-8 Taejon. However, X-8 could not be identified despite several attempts over the next four years. The remains were later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In March 2017, after extensive research into casualties from the Hwanggon area, DPAA historians and anthropologists requested Unknown X-8 be disinterred in order to undergo DNA analysis. X-8 was disinterred Aug. 17, 2017, and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

Sharp’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Sharp will be buried May 21, 2022, in Dayton, Ohio.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
May 2, 2022

Army Pfc. Jack E. Lilley, 19

Army Pfc. Jack E. Lilley, 19, of Waldworth, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In July 1950, Lilley was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 20 after his unit was forced to retreat from the vicinity of Taejon, South Korea. He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that could be identified as Lilley. He was declared non-recoverable in January 1956.

Seven sets of remains were recovered from a common grave a few miles east of Taejon in March 1951. Six of the sets were able to be identified. The lone unidentified set was designated Unknown X-769 Tanggok and were later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In July 2018, DPAA historians and anthropologists proposed a plan to disinter and identify the 652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl. X-769 was disinterred July 15, 2019, as part of Phase 2 of the Korean War Identification Project and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

Lilley’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monument Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Lilley will be buried June 14, 2022, in Westerville, Ohio.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
April 28, 2022

Navy Seaman 2nd Class Laverne A. Nigg, 23

Navy Seaman 2nd Class Laverne A. Nigg, 23, of Browns Valley, Minnesota, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Nigg was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Nigg.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Nigg.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Nigg’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Nigg will be buried on June 4, 2022, in his hometown.

Airmen killed From World War II Accounted For
April 27, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. William F. Teaff, 26

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. William F. Teaff, 26, Summit County, Ohio killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In the spring of 1944, Teaff was assigned to the 351st Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. On March 6, he was the radio operator aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber that was part of a larger mission to bomb targets in Berlin.

German fighters attacked the B-17’s formation while it flew over The Netherlands, and Teaff’s plane was destroyed.

The entire crew except for the navigator, who was killed when the plane was hit, was able to bail out before the B-17 blew up in the sky.

The crew was captured by the Germans and several of them, including Teaff, were sent to Stalag Luft 6, a prisoner of war camp in Heydekrug, Germany.

Teaff was one of only three Americans who died in the POW camp.

He died July 10 in the nearby village of Matzicken, Lithuania, where he was receiving medical treatment for diptheria.

William F Teaff is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing Netherlands American Cemetery Margraten, Netherlands.

Marine killed From World War II Accounted For
April 20, 2022

Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. William R. Ragsdale, 23

 Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. William R. Ragsdale, 23, of Nashville, Tennessee killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In June 1944, Ragsdale was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, which was part of the invasion force of the island of Saipan
in a larger effort to capture the Mariana Islands from Japan.

Ragsdale was initially reported as wounded in action and evacuated from Saipan on June 28.

When he was unable to be found during the chaos surrounding the battle and its aftermath, his status was changed to missing in action and then later deceased.

Ragsdale’s remains were located after the division had moved on. He was evidently without any identification, though the Graves Registration detail noted he was wearing a gold wedding ring with the inscription “To Bill from Eloise.”

His remains were buried as Unknown X-6 in the 27th Division Cemetery, Plot 2, Row 2, Grave 441 at 1340 hours, July 6 1944.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
April 19, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Merl W. Holm, 22

U.S. Army Pfc. Merl W. Holm, 22, Calhoun County, Iowa killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In November 1942, Holm was assigned to the Company K, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, deployed in present day Papua New Guinea.

 As part of an attempt to neutralize the Japanese threat to Port Moresby, the Allied center of communications in the area, Holm’s unit attempted to flank the enemy defensive lines stretched across the Sanananda Track in northern Papua.

Holm was reported as killed in action on Nov. 26.

Holm was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

Merl W Holm is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

Navy Seaman 2nd Class Tceollyar Simmons, 18, of Detroit, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Simmons was assigned to the battleship USS California, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 104 crewmen, including Simmons.

From December 1941 to April 1942, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 39 men from the USS California at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified the 25 Unknowns who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Simmons.

In 2018, DPAA personnel exhumed the 25 USS California Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Simmons’ name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Simmons will be buried on June 14, 2022, in Hacoda, Alabama.

Navy Seaman 1st Class David F. Tidball, 20, of Independence, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Tidball was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Tidball.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Tidball.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Tidball’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

Navy Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Everett R. Stewart, 22, of Anderson, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Stewart was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Stewart.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Stewart.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Stewart’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

 A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Stewart will be buried on June 18, 2022, at the NMCP.

Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class Harry E. Nichols, 21, of Sioux City, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Nichols 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 Nichols.

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 Nichols.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Nichols’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Nichols will be buried May 13, 2022, in his hometown.

 Navy Seaman 2nd Class Walter R. Pentico, 17, of Lexington, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Pentico was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Pentico.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Pentico.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Pentico’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Pentico will be buried on April 29, 2022, at the Punchbowl.

U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Elvin L. Phillips, 23, Salt Lake County, Utah killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In the summer of 1943, Phillips was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force.

On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Phillips was serving as a gunner crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE,
the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.

His remains were not identified following the war.

Elvin Lee Phillips is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England.

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.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 31, 2022

Army Pfc. William L. Groh, Jr., 22

 Army Pfc. William L. Groh, Jr., 22, of Tiffin, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In November 1944, Groh was assigned to Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive, near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported wounded in action on Nov. 13. This was also the last day his unit saw him.

German forces never listed him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on Nov. 14, 1945.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Groh’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in September 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5437 Neuville, originally discovered by a German forester and recovered by the AGRC in 1947, possibly belonged to Groh. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

Groh’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium,
along with the others still missing from World War II.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Groh will be buried in Phoenix, Arizona. The date has yet to be determined.

 U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Louis V. Girard, 20, McLennan County, Texas killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In the summer of 1943, Girard 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 Girard was serving as a pilot crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE,
the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.

His remains were not identified following the war.

The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
March 29, 2022

Navy Seaman 1st Class Wilbur F. Newton, 29

 Navy Seaman 1st Class Wilbur F. Newton, 29, of San Leandro, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Newton was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Newton.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Newton.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Newton’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Newton will be buried May 28, 2022, in Mound City, Missouri.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 29, 2022

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gerald R. Helms, 29

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gerald R. Helms, 29, of Chicago, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the fall of 1944, Helms was assigned to Company E, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was reported missing in action near Katerbosch, Netherlands, during Operation MARKET GARDEN after he failed to return from a lone scouting mission Oct. 2. His body was never found by his unit, and there was no evidence he had ever been captured. A presumptive finding of death was issued Oct. 3, 1945.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, conducted several searches of the area, but by 1950, none of the remains found around Katerbosch could be identified as Helms. He was declared non-recoverable in October 1950.

In 2015, DPAA historians began working on a comprehensive research and recovery project focused on those missing from Operation MARKET GARDEN, but none of the disinterred remains could be identified as Helms. However, in October 2019, a Dutch citizen digging a trench in the front yard of a home in Katerbosch came upon human remains and military artifacts. The Royal Netherlands Army’s Recovery and Identification Unit (RIU) excavated the site on Oct. 30. They conducted a full anthropological analysis of the remains and historical analysis of the material items, including Helms’ identification tags, and recovery location. The RIU concluded the remains belonged to Helms. These remains and evidence were then transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for further examination and identification.

Helms’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands,
along with others still missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Helms will be buried in Elwood, Illinois. The date has yet to be determined.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
March 29, 2022

Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class George Gilbert, 20

Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class George Gilbert, 20, of Indianapolis, 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.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Gilbert.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

To identify Gilbert’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Gilbert’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII.

 A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Gilbert will be buried June 6, 2022, at the Punchbowl.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 29, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Sanford K. Bowen, 26

U.S. Army Pfc. Sanford K. Bowen, 26, Ashland County, Ohio killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In January 1945, Bowen was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. The unit was attempting to secure terrain near Reipertswiller, France, when it was surrounded by German forces while being pounded by artillery and mortar fire.

 Company I and the four other companies surrounded with it were given the order to attempt a break-out on Jan. 20, but only two men from Company I made it through German lines.

No one wanted to surrender to the SS after the news of the Malmedy Massacre in the Ardennes had spread. But in the end only two men reached Allied lines.
Casualties for the month were 32 KIA, 24WIA, 472 MIA and 70 known prisoners.

 Bowen was among those killed, but his body could not be recovered because of the fighting.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Sanford K Bowen is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France.

Army Cpl. Donald L. Menken, 21, of Whitesburg, Kentucky, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In June 1953, Menken was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action after being wounded by artillery shell fragments on June 10 while his unit was guarding Outpost Harry, a position on the main road to Seoul in what is now the Demilitarized Zone. He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that could be identified as Menken. He was declared killed in action on June 11, 1954, and non-recoverable in January 1956.

The American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRSG) was tasked with recovering and identifying remains from the Korean War. The AGRSG went to Outpost Harry to supervise evacuation of the dead. During this time, they did not find any remains that could be identified as Menken. He was also not among the POWs returned during Operation BIG SWITCH in the late summer of 1953 nor among the remains identified from those returned during Operation GLORY in the fall of 1954. However, the AGRSG did find a set of remains that were designated as Unknown X-6039 after they could not be identified. X-6039 was later transported with all unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In July 2018, DPAA historians and anthropologists proposed a plan to disinter and identify the 652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl. X-6039 was disinterred Jan. 28, 2019, as part of Phase 1 of the Korean War Identification Project and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

Menken’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monument Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Menken will be buried May 14, 2022, in Ermine, Kentucky.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 24, 2022

U.S. Army Pvt. Pearl F. Barrow, 36

U.S. Army Pvt. Pearl F. Barrow, 36, of Wichita, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In November 1944, Barrow was assigned to Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported as killed in action on Nov. 20. Because of the fighting, his body was unable to be recovered.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Barrow’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.

In 2017, while studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains found in 1948 possibly belonged to Barrow. A business card with “Guaranteed Roofing Co., 832 Indiana” had been found with the remains. While Barrow was not from Indiana, the address listed for his wife in his Report of Death was 832 Indiana, Wichita, Kansas. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in August 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

Barrow’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands,
along with the others still missing from World War II.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Barrow will be buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be determined.

Pilot killed From World War II Accounted For
March 22, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Eugene P. Shauvin, 25

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Eugene P. Shauvin, 25, of Spokane, Washington, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the early fall of 1944, Shauvin was assigned to the 95th Troop Carrier Squadron, 440th Troop Carrier Group. On Sept. 17, Shauvin was piloting a C-47 Skytrain aircraft that was shot down over Belgium, en route to the Netherlands to drop 11 Pathfinder paratroopers ahead of Operation Market Garden. Several Belgian witnesses saw the plane crash near the villages of Retie and Kortijnen. Only six paratroopers successfully bailed out. The four-person crew, including Shauvin, and the other five paratroopers died in the crash.

A few days after the crash, several area residents recovered eight bodies from the crash site and buried them in a nearby common grave. German forces left the area on Sept. 23, and on Sept. 25, the Belgian Red Cross exhumed the remains from the common grave and reinterred them in the Retie village cemetery. In June 1945, the Army’s 3049th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company disinterred 22 sets of American remains associated with numerous air losses from the Retie cemetery and transported them to the U.S. Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, for processing. By October 1951, everyone from Shauvin’s aircraft had been identified and accounted for except for Shauvin. He was declared non-recoverable on Oct. 29.

In 1999, Shauvin’s daughter, Linda, contacted the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), a DPAA predecessor, with evidence that her father’s remains might still be found at the crash site. CILHI sent an investigation team in 2002, and the next year, the newly formed Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), also a DPAA predecessor, sent a recovery team. The team located the cockpit, but didn’t find Shauvin, and so recommended no further excavation.

In 2016, Linda Chauvin requested DPAA reconsider the decision not to excavate further. After assessing the 2003 reports, it was determined there was sufficient evidence to support additional excavation work at the site. It took until 2019 to complete a complex series of negotiations with host-nation authorities, to gain access, permits, and mitigate environmental challenges at the site, before COVID-19 delayed the excavation further. Bolstered by unwavering support from Shauvin's family, Belgian authorities, and the landowners and local community at Retie, a DPAA recovery team fully excavated the site in April and May 2021, and found human remains and possible life support equipment.

Shauvin’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands,
 along with others still missing from WWII.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
March 21, 2022

Navy Water Tender 1st Class Milo E. Phillips, 26

Navy Water Tender 1st Class Milo E. Phillips, 26, of Pierce, Colorado, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Phillips 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 Phillips.

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 Phillips.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Phillips’ 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.

Phillips will be buried on Aug. 4, 2022, at the Punchbowl.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
March 21, 2022

Navy Coxswain Paul L. Boemer, 21

Navy Coxswain Paul L. Boemer, 21, of St. Louis, 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.

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 Boemer.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

Boemer’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.

Boemer will be buried May 3, 2022, in his hometown.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
March 11, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Richard G. Salsbury, 19

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Richard G. Salsbury, 19, of Canaan, Maine, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Salsbury was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Salsbury was serving as a gunner crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

Salsbury’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Salsbury will be buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be determined.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 11, 2022

Army Staff Sgt. Grady H. Canup, 30

Army Staff Sgt. Grady H. Canup, 30, of Greenwood, South Carolina, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In November 1944, Canup was assigned to Company C, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive when he was reported killed in action on Nov. 14 when enemy artillery fire hit near his foxhole. Because of the fighting, his body was unable to be recovered.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Canup’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5450 Neuville, originally discovered by a German forester and recovered by the AGRC in 1947, possibly belonged to Canup. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

Meanwhile, in 2019, Canup’s identification tag was found in the Hürtgen Forest in the general location of where DPAA historians believed he was lost and near where X-5450 was recovered.

Canup’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands, along with the others
 still missing from World War II.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Canup will be buried April 10, 2022, in Anderson, South Carolina.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 10, 2022

Army Pvt. Edward M. Ryan, 33

Army Pvt. Edward M. Ryan, 33, of New York City, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In July 1944, Ryan was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, which occupied defensive positions along the northwest coast of Saipan as part of a larger operation to secure the Mariana Islands. On the morning of July 7, the commanding general of the Japanese forces ordered a mass suicide charge of his remaining soldiers into the 105th’s line. Ryan was killed sometime during the attack. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater. They searched for and disinterred remains on Saipan, but could not identify any as Ryan. He was declared non-recoverable in 1949.

Remains identified as Unknown X-22 27th Infantry Division Cemetery were recovered and interred in the Fort William McKinley Cemetery, now the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines.

After thorough historical research, it was determined that X-22 could likely be identified. On Jan. 23, 2019, Unknown X-22 was disinterred and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Ryan’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.

Ryan will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
March 10, 2022

Army Air Forces Pfc. Edward H. Benson, Jr., 22

Army Air Forces Pfc. Edward H. Benson, Jr., 22, of Roanoke, Virginia, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In March 1945, Benson was assigned to the 1562nd Army Air Force Base Unit on Biak Island, part of the modern-day Republic of Indonesia. He and 39 other service members were killed during a Japanese air raid Sorido Airstrip on March 22. Of those 40, three, including Benson, could not be identified or accounted for after the attack.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater. Army and Army Air Force cemeteries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific were consolidated in a large cemetery complex in Finschhafen in modern-day Papua New Guinea.

The attempt to identify and account for Benson was intertwined with similar attempts identify and account for three other service members killed in the Sorido air raid. After several examinations, misidentifications, burials, exhumations, and re-examinations between 1945 and 1953, the other three men were conclusively identified, but one set of remains, designated X-188 Finschhafen #3, couldn’t be positively identified. X-188 was buried at Fort William McKinley Cemetery, now known as Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, in the Philippines, and Benson was declared non-recoverable.

In May 2003, Benson’s son, Dr. James H. Benson, reached out to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), a DPAA predecessor, requesting another assessment of association between his father and X-188. Later that year, he also submitted a thorough, detailed research report by retired Air Force Col. Jack O. Forgy about the complexities of the case. Disinterment was not a common practice for JPAC, despite many attempts by Benson’s son to move the case forward over the years. Shortly after DPAA was formed in 2015, Benson’s son reached out in another attempt to move the case forward. X-188 was disinterred in January 2020 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Benson’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Manila, Philippines, 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.

Benson will be buried May 14, 2022, in his hometown.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
March 9, 2022

Navy Water Tender 1st Class Oliver K. Burger, 26

 Navy Water Tender 1st Class Oliver K. Burger, 26, of San Pedro, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Burger 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 Burger.

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 Burger.

Burger’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.

Burger will be buried Aug. 31, 2022, at the NMCP.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
March 7, 2022

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Casimir P. Lobacz, 25

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Casimir P. Lobacz, 25, Kenosha County, Wisconsin killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In the early fall of 1944, Lobacz was assigned to Company E, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. The unit was advancing through France as part of what was unofficially called the Lorraine Campaign.

On Sept. 27, Lobacz’s unit was part of the ground attack on Fort Driant near Metz.

He was reported to have been killed during the first wave of the assault. However, due to enemy fire, his body was unable to be recovered.

When the fort was attacked a second time a few days later, Lobacz’s body could not be found.

Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France.

Wall of the Missing ~ Army-Army Air Forces.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
February 25, 2022

Navy Chief Water Tender Claude White, 40

Navy Chief Water Tender Claude White, 40, of Yorkville, Tennessee, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, White 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 White.

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 White.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

White’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.

White will be buried on April 19, 2022, in Dyer, Tennessee.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
February 25, 2022

 Army Cpl. William M. Zoellick, 18

 Army Cpl. William M. Zoellick, 18, Cook County, Illinois killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

In late 1950, Zoellick was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.

He was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, after his company encountered a Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) roadblock near Kunu-ri, North Korea.

In August 1953, a CPVF report provided to the United Nations Command stated Zoellick died on Feb. 27, 1951, at Prisoner of War Camp #1.

A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

William M Zoellick is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

William is remembered at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
February 23, 2022

Army Sgt. Roy C. Delauter, 21

Army Sgt. Roy C. Delauter, 21, of Smithsburg, Maryland, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In late 1950, Delauter was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 1, 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.

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 Delauter’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Delauter’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu,
along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War.

Jane Kline (sister)  said the ceremony Sunday will be the closest thing to a real burial,
even though her family placed a marker to memorialize Roy DeLauter in their parent's burial plot at Cedar Lawn Cemetery.

Delauter will be buried April 22, 2022, in his hometown.

Navy Seaman 1st Class James R. Ward, 20, Springfield, Ohio killed during World War II, was accounted for.

(Official release will be updated following the primary next of kin briefing.)

On Dec. 7, 1941, Ward 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.

Ward enlisted in the Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1940. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Ward was serving in the battleship Oklahoma. As that ship was capsizing, and had been ordered abandoned, he remained in a turret holding a flashlight, thus sacrificing his own life to permit other members of the crew to escape. For his heroism at that time, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.