Today, 7,501 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.

U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Garrigus, 24, of Terra Haute, Indiana, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 2, 2022.

In late 1950, Garrigus was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, during battle with enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war.

On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Garrigus’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 (myDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Garrigus’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.

Garrigus will be buried in Greenwood, Indiana, on date yet to be determined.

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

In the summer of 1943, Reuter was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force.

He was killed in action on Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Reuter was serving as the navigator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Lt. George J. Reuter was remembered at Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy

 

Pilot killed From World War II Accounted For
January 19, 2023

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. James A. Deeds, 23

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. James A. Deeds, 23, CA. killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

First Lieutenant Deeds entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Mississippi and served in the 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group. On August 1, 1943.

Deeds was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber piloted by Deeds was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

First Lieutenant Deeds is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunis, Tunisia.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
January 18, 2023

U.S. Army Pfc. Mark P. Wilson, 20

U.S. Army Pfc. Mark P. Wilson, 20, of Elizabethton, Tennessee killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In November 1944, Wilson was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His battalion had been tasked with holding the town of Kommerscheidt, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported missing in action on Nov. 8.

His body unable to be recovered, and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. He was declared killed in action after the war.

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 Wilson’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in November 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5433 Neuville, recovered Kommerscheidt in April 1947, possibly belonged to Wilson. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, in 1949, were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

Wilson’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Plombières, 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.

Wilson will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on a date yet to be determined.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
January 17, 2023

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Melvin B. Meyer, 25

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Melvin B. Meyer, 25, of Pattonville, Missouri, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In May 1944, Meyer was assigned to the 569th Bombardment Squadron, 390th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 13th Bombardment Wing, 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force. He was the bombardier of a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during a huge bombing mission over Leipzig, Germany, on May 29. Enemy fighters attacked the bomber’s formation roughly 28 miles northeast Leipzig, and the plane was shot down. Six of the 10 crew members were able to escape the plane before it crashed near Horst, while the rest, including Meyer, were killed. Bodies recovered from the crash were believed to have been buried in a local cemetery. After the war ended, there was no evidence of Meyer being a prisoner of war or having survived, so a Finding of Death was issued a year after the crash.

The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater following the war. They were able to find the remains of one of the crew members buried in a cemetery in Horst during a search in September 1946. After 1950, worsening diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, who controlled this part of Germany at the time, prevented the AGRC from investigating further. Meyer was declared non-recoverable on April 21, 1953.

In July 2012, an investigation team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a DPAA predecessor organization, found the crash site and recovered evidence of a B-17 crash. In 2015, DPAA received permission from the land-owner to excavate. DPAA contracted History Flight, Inc. to excavate the site, which they did between July 17 and Aug. 12, 2019. They recovered possible material evidence and possible remains, which was first turned over to the local authorities and then sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for scientific analysis.

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

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

Meyer will be buried in St. Louis, Missouri on a date yet to be determined.

Pilot killed From World War II Accounted For
January 12, 2023

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Carl D. Nesbitt, 23

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Carl D. Nesbitt, 23, of Lima, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In May 1944, Nesbitt was assigned to the 569th Bombardment Squadron, 390th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 13th Bombardment Wing, 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force. He was the pilot of a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during a huge bombing mission over Leipzig, Germany, on May 29. Enemy fighters attacked the bomber’s formation roughly 28 miles northeast Leipzig, and the plane was shot down. Six of the 10 crew members were able to escape the plane before it crashed near Horst, while the rest, including Nesbitt, were killed. Bodies recovered from the crash were believed to have been buried in a local cemetery. After the war ended, there was no evidence of Nesbitt being a prisoner of war or having survived, so a Finding of Death was issued a year after the crash.

The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater following the war. They were able to find the remains of one of the crew members buried in a cemetery in Horst during a search in September 1946. After 1950, worsening diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, who controlled this part of Germany at the time, prevented the AGRC from investigating further. Nesbitt was declared non-recoverable on April 21, 1953.

In July 2012, an investigation team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a DPAA predecessor organization, found the crash site and recovered evidence of a B-17 crash. In 2015, DPAA received permission from the land-owner to excavate. DPAA contracted History Flight, Inc. to excavate the site, which they did between July 17 and Aug. 12, 2019. They recovered possible material evidence and possible remains, which was first turned over to the local authorities and then sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for scientific analysis.

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

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

Nesbitt will be buried on May 15, 2023, in Annville, Pennsylvania.

Soldier Killed  From Vietnam War Accounted For
January 6, 2023

U.S. Army Pfc. Thomas F. Green, 19

U.S. Army Pfc. Thomas F. Green, 19, of Ramona, California, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for.

In October 1971, Green was assigned to the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. On Oct. 26, Green was serving as the door gunner on a CH-47B Chinook helicopter when it went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam.

Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Green was not accounted for.

An unsuccessful recovery attempt was made in 1974 when divers from the Joint Casualty Resolution Center dove on what was believed to be the crash site. A number of investigation and recovery efforts took place between 1994 and 2021 with a June 2021 recovery mission finding possible human remains and material evidence.

Green’s name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.

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

Green’s will be buried in Ramona, California on Feb. 23, 2023.

Today there are 1,580 American servicemen and civilians that are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Harold Kretzer, 32, of Odin, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Kretzer was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Kretzer was a gunner-engineer was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Kretzer’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.

Kretzer will be buried in Springfield, Illinois on a date yet to be determined.

U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman First Class Anthony Di Petta, 24, from N.J. was killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In the fall of 1944, Di Petta was the Aviation Ordnanceman assigned to the Navy Torpedo Squadron 20, USS Enterprise. On Sept. 10, Di Petta and two other crew members abroad the TBM-1C Avenger Bureau Number, 17018 took off from the USS Enterprise on a mission to conduct air strikes against enemy targets in Malakal Naval District, Palau Islands.

Their aircraft was struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed into water near Malakal.

Efforts to recover Di Petta’s remains were unsuccessful.

Aviation Ordnanceman First Class Di Petta is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Gusie’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.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
December 16, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Ralph E. Richardson, Jr., 21

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Ralph E. Richardson, Jr., 21, of Columbia, South Carolina, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Richardson was assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Richardson was the radio operator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Richardson’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.

Richardson will be buried in Columbia, South Carolina on a date yet to be determined.

Pilot killed From World War II Accounted For
December 16, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Roy C. Harms, 26

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Roy C. Harms, 26, of Grafton, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Harms was assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber Harms was piloting was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Harms’ 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.

Harms will be buried in Grafton, Wisconsin on date yet to be determined.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
December 13, 2022

Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Michael Uhrin, 21

Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Michael Uhrin, 21, of Metuchen, New Jersey, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In October 1943, Uhrin was assigned to 369th Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 40th Combat Wing, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Oct. 14, the B-17F Flying Fortress bomber on which he was serving as the radio operator was flying a mission to Schweinfurt, Germany, when it was shot down by enemy fighters near Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim, Hessen, Germany. Uhrin’s bomber was one of 60 aircraft to be lost during the mission. The surviving B-17 crew members said Uhrin was killed before the plane crashed, and none witnessed him bail out. His death was confirmed shortly after the crash, but there is no record of his burial location.

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 investigations around Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim, but couldn’t find any concrete evidence associating recovered remains with Uhrin. He was declared non-recoverable in April 1955.

DPAA historians are conducting ongoing, comprehensive research focused on air losses over Germany. As a result, one set of remains, designated X-1660 St. Avold, was determined to be a strong candidate for association with Uhrin. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in Belgium, were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

Uhrin’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the United Kingdom, 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.

Uhrin will be buried in Matuchen, New Jersey on date yet to be determined.

U.S. Army Pfc. James L. Miller, 21, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

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

In late 1950, Miller was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Miller and the 24th Infantry Regiment took part in the unsuccessful defense of the town of Sangju in July 1950.

He was reported killed in action on July 30, while fighting with the North Korean forces. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war.

Miller was declared nonrecoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
December 12, 2022

Army Pfc. William L. Simon, 20

 Army Pfc. William L. Simon, 20, Wisconsin killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In November 1944, Simon was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.

His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported killed in action on Nov. 5. Following the battle,
his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
December 7, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Theodore F. Scarborough, 21

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Theodore F. Scarborough, 21, of Brooklyn, Mississippi, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Scarborough was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Scarborough was the bombardier was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Scarborough’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the North African American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Tunis, Tunisia,
along with others still missing from WWII.

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

Scarborough will be buried in Brooklyn, Mississippi on April 21, 2023.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
December 5, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur L. Pierce, 26

U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur L. Pierce, 26, of Malden, Massachusetts who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

In late 1941, Pierce was a member of the 803rd Engineer Battalion in the Philippines, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Pierce was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Pierce died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Twelve of the sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In January 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Pierce’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

Pierce will be buried in Augusta, Maine, on a date yet to be determined.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
December 2, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. Joseph E. Lescaut, 21

U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. Joseph E. Lescaut, 21, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

In late 1941, Lescaut was a member of the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Lescaut was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Lescaut died July 26, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Three of the sets of remains from Common Grave 225 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In March 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Lescaut’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

Lescaut will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on a date yet to be determined.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
December 1, 2022

Army Pfc. Dale D. Thompson, 18

Army Pfc. Dale D. Thompson, 18, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

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

In late 1950, Thompson was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, during battle with enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.

Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was never a prisoner of war.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 30, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William Scott, 21

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William Scott, 21, Passaie, N.J. 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, Scott 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 Scott was serving as the navigator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 30, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. John M. Carroll, 32

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. John M. Carroll, 32, of New York, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Carroll was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Carroll was the radio operator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Carroll’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.

Carroll will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on a date yet to be determined.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
November 29, 2022

U.S. Army Sgt. Allen H. Tuttle, 23

U.S. Army Sgt. Allen H. Tuttle, 23, of Tacoma, Washington, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In late 1950, Tuttle was a member of C Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, 8th U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea, on Nov. 30, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on.

In 1953, 12 POWs who returned during Operation Big Switch reported Tuttle had been a prisoner of war and died in March 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.

In the late summer and fall of 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. None were associated with Tuttle.

One set of remains disinterred from Camp #5 returned during Operation Glory was designated Unknown X-14836 and buried at 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. In December 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14836 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.

Tuttle’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments 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.

Tuttle will be buried on Dec. 16, 2022 in Bellevue, Washington.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 29, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Wayne L. Dyer, 22

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Wayne L. Dyer, 22, of Hobart, Oklahoma killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In May 1944, Dyer was assigned to the 569th Bombardment Squadron, 390th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 13th Bombardment Wing, 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force. He was the navigator of a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during a huge bombing mission over Leipzig, Germany, on May 29. Enemy fighters attacked the bomber’s formation roughly 28 miles northeast Leipzig, and the plane was shot down. Six of the 10 crew members were able to escape the plane before it crashed near Horst, while the rest, including Dyer, were killed. Bodies recovered from the crash were believed to have been buried in a local cemetery. After the war ended, there was no evidence of Dyer being a prisoner of war or having survived, so a Finding of Death was issued a year after the crash.

The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater following the war. They were able to find the remains of one of the crew members buried in a cemetery in Horst during a search in September 1946. After 1950, worsening diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, who controlled this part of Germany at the time, prevented the AGRC from investigating further. Dyer was declared non-recoverable on April 21, 1953.

In July 2012, an investigation team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a DPAA predecessor organization, found the crash site and recovered evidence of a B-17 crash. In 2015, DPAA received permission from the land-owner to excavate. DPAA contracted History Flight, Inc. to excavate the site, which they did between July 17 and Aug. 12, 2019. They recovered possible material evidence and possible remains, which was first turned over to the local authorities and then sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for scientific analysis.

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

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

Dyer will be buried on a date yet to be determined, in Killeen, Texas.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
November 22, 2022

U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph H. Gunnoe, 21

U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph H. Gunnoe, 21, of Charleston, West Virginia, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In November 1944, Gunnoe was assigned to Company G, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His unit captured the town of Vossenack, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, on Nov. 2 and held it against constant German artillery and small arms fire, until finally forced to withdraw on Nov. 6. Due to the circumstances of the battle, Company G was not able to take a full accounting of the survivors until days after the fighting.

Gunnoe was among the missing. Survivors had no information regarding his fate. The Army reported him missing in action as of Nov. 9. Graves registration teams did not recover or identify his body after the battle, and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. He was declared killed in action after the war.

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 Gunnoe’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in October 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2775 Neuville, recovered near Vossenack in June 1946, possibly belonged to Gunnoe. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, in 1949, were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

Gunnoe’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.

Gunnoe will be buried on Dec. 14, 2022, in Charleston, West Virginia.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
November 18, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Robert A. Wright, 18

U.S. Army Pfc. Robert A. Wright, 18, of Whitesville, KY, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In July 1950, Wright was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action during fighting along the Kum River near Taejon, South Korea, on July 16. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war.

The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.

After regaining control of Taejon in the fall of 1950, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Taejon. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-296 Taejon. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-296, the remains were declared unidentifiable. They were later sent to Hawaii where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, with other Korean War Unknowns.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On June 10, 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-296 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Wright’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.

Wright will be buried on Dec. 10, 2022, in Whitesville, KY.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 15, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Walter Nies, 23

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Walter Nies, 23, of Eureka, South Dakota, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the winter of 1944, Nies was assigned to the 96th Bombardment Squadron, 2nd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force. On January 24, he was the tail gunner aboard a B-17F Flying Fortress bomber that was part bombardment mission to Sofia, Bulgaria. German fighters attacked the B-17’s formation over Yugoslavia while it was attempting to return to its home base in Italy. The attack was largely ineffectual, but Nies’ aircraft began having engine trouble shortly after and was forced to crash land on a beach near Ulcinj, Montenegro.

The crew was captured by the Germans and all of the enlisted men, including Nies, were sent to Stalag Luft 6, a prisoner of war camp in Heydekrug, Germany.

Nies was one of only three Americans who died in that POW camp. He died May 28 after being shot.

German reports said he was trying to escape, but U.S. prisoner testimony following the war claimed he had been shot while on his way to the latrine in the early morning before the prisoners’ nightly lockdown had been lifted.

After the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, was unable to recover the three Americans’ remains because Stalag Luft 6, now inside Lithuania because of post-war border shifting, was deep inside the Soviet occupation zone. In 1948, the AGRC provided a list of Americans whose remains were believed to be in Soviet territory to the Soviet government, but Nies’ remains couldn’t be identified. The AGRC provided additional information on Nies to the Soviets in 1950, but by September 1951, he could still not be found. He was declared non-recoverable on March 25, 1954.

After Lithuania became independent in 1992, the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs requested the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius look into Nies’ case. They discovered the Soviet Union destroyed Stalag Luft 6 in 1955 and reverted the area to farmland. In 2006, a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), a DPAA predecessor, and the Joint Commission Support Directorate, investigated the site and recommended excavation. However, significant issues prevented them from sending a recovery team. Around this time, the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), also a DPAA predecessor, found several new sources of information pertaining to the case at the National Archives.

Nies’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Luxembourg American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) site in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg,
along with others still missing from WWII.

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

Nies will be buried on date yet to be determined, in Eureka, SD.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
November 14, 2022

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Rotunno, 27

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Rotunno, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In January 1945, Rotunno was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. The unit was engaged with German forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France and was surrounded, along with four other companies. The surrounded companies were given the order to attempt a break-out on Jan. 20, but only two men made it through German lines.

The rest were either captured or killed. Rotunno was among those killed in the aftermath on Jan. 21, but his body could not be recovered because of the fighting.

Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Reipertswiller, finding 37 unidentified sets of American remains, none of which could be identified as Rotunno. He was declared non-recoverable on Oct. 11, 1951.

DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Reipertswiller, and found that X-6049 St. Avold, which had been buried at Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France, could be associated with Rotunno. X-6049 was disinterred in June 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

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

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

Rotunno will be buried on a date yet to be determined, in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
November 14, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Francis P. Martin, 25

U.S. Army Pfc. Francis P. Martin, 25, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In January 1945, Martin was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. The unit had penetrated the German lines near Reipertswiller, France, which left its flanks open to German forces. On Jan. 16, Martin was on a truck convoy bringing rations to the front lines. The convoy was ambushed, and Martin was not among the men who escaped.

Over the next few days, the Germans surrounded the 157th forces, preventing any search for Martin or the recovery of his body. With no evidence in captured German records that he survived the ambush or was held as a prisoner of war, the War Department issued a finding of death on Jan. 17, 1946.

Beginning in 1947, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Reipertswiller, finding 37 unidentified sets of American remains, but it was unable to identify any of them as Martin. He was declared non-recoverable on Oct. 15, 1951.

DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Reipertswiller, and found that Unknown X-6373 Neuville, buried at Henri-Chappelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site near Liège, Belgium, could be associated with Martin. X-6373 was disinterred in August 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

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

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

Martin will be buried on a date to be determined, in Arlington National Cemetery.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
November 9, 2022

U.S. Army Cpl. Tommie T. Hanks, 27

U.S. Army Cpl. Tommie T. Hanks, 27, of Fort Worth, Texas, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In late 1950, Hanks was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, 8th Army. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 26, while his unit was attempting to withdraw from east of the Ch’ongch’on Rver near Anju, North Korea.

Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. Hanks was declared nonrecoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.

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.

Hanks’ 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.

Hanks will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, on a date yet to be determined.

Soldier Killed  From Vietnam War Accounted For
November 8, 2022

U.S. Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 3 Larry A. Zich, 24

U.S. Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 3 Larry A. Zich, 24, Lancaster County, Nebraska killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for.

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

In April 1972, Zich was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 37th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade.

On April 3, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-16330, call sign "Cavalier 70") with a crew of four, including Zich as the co-pilot. The team departed from Marble Mountain, Da Nang, South Vietnam, on a combat support mission to Quang Tri City, South Vietnam.

During the flight, the pilot told a Hue/Phu Bai Ground Control Approach (GCA) controller that he was lost, and believed they were near Quang Tri.

Following the transmission, the GCA controller could not locate the helicopter on the radar, and reported the team missing.

When the helicopter failed to appear at any of the air bases in South Vietnam, an aerial search was initiated but found no sign of the missing aircraft or crew.

Larry Alfred Zich is memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. 

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 7, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. David E. Holeman, 39

 U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. David E. Holeman, 39, of Le Harpe, Kansas, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

In late 1941, Holeman was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

Holeman was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese.

 They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Twelve sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In early 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Holeman’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

According to prison camp and other historical records, Holeman died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.

David E Holeman is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

Holeman will be buried April 23, 2023, in Independence, Kansas.

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

U.S. Army Pvt. James R. Tash, 20

U.S. Army Pvt. James R. Tash, 20, of St. Louis, Missouri, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

In late 1941, Tash was a member of F Company, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

Tash was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese.

They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp.

More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Twelve sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In early 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Tash’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

According to prison camp and other historical records, Tash died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery
in Common Grave 312.

James R. Tash is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

Tash will be buried in St. Louis, Missouri on a date yet to be determined.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 7, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Charles W. Eeds, 23

U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Charles W. Eeds, 23, Durant, Oklahoma who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

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


In late 1941, Eeds was a member of the 48th Materiel Squadron, in the Philippines, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December.

Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

Eeds was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese.

They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp.

More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Eeds died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery
in Common Grave 312.

Corporal Eeds is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
November 4, 2022

U.S. Army Sgt. Alfred H. Sidney, 23

U.S. Army Sgt. Alfred H. Sidney, 23, of Littleton, New Hampshire who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In May 1951, Sidney was a member of H Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on May 18, after his unit was attacked near Hangye, South Korea. In 1953, a POW who returned during Operation Little Switch reported Sidney had been a prisoner of war and died in July 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #1.

In the late summer and fall of 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered Prisoner of War Camp #1 to the United Nations Command. None were associated with Sidney.

One set of remains disinterred from Camp #1 returned during Operation Glory was designated Unknown X-14144 and buried at 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. In February 2020, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14144 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.

Sidney’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments 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.

Sidney will be buried at Littleton, New Hampshire, on a date to be determined.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
November 1, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. John W. Ropp, 31

U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. John W. Ropp, 31,  from California who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

In late 1941, Ropp was a member of the 2nd Observance Squadron in the Philippines, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December.

Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

Ropp was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese.

They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Ropp died July 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery
in Common Grave 215.

Private Ropp is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
October 31, 2022

Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. James M. Triplett, 36

Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. James M. Triplett, 36, from Washington State killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In September 1944, Triplett was assigned to 700th Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 2d Air Division, 8th Air Force.

On Sept. 27, the B-24H Liberator bomber on which he was serving as a radio operator was part of a large mission to bomb the industrial city Kassel in northern Hesse, Germany.

During the mission the formation of aircraft encountered heavy resistance from enemy ground and air forces, which resulted in the rapid loss of 25 Liberators.

Several of the crew aboard Triplett’s aircraft were able to bail out, and witnesses who survived did not report seeing him escaping the aircraft.

Six of the nine crew members were killed. His body unable to be recovered and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war.

The War Department issued finding of death on Sept. 28, 1945.

Memorialized at Luxembourg American Cemetery 50, Val du Scheid 2517 Luxembourg Luxembourg.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
October 31, 2022

U.S. Army Sgt. Allen H. Tuttle, 23

U.S. Army Sgt. Allen H. Tuttle, 23, Buffalo, New York who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for.

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

In late 1950, Tuttle was a member of C Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, 8th U.S. Army.

He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea, on Nov. 30, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on.

 In 1953, 12 POWs who returned during Operation Big Switch reported Tuttle had been a prisoner of war and died in March 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
October 28, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Merle L. Pickup, 27

U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Merle L. Pickup, 27, of Provo, Utah, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In May 1944, Pickup was assigned to the 308th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 373rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), stationed in Yangkai, China. He was a passenger onboard a B-24J Liberator bomber on a ferrying mission from China to Chabua, Assam, India.

The plane never made it to its destination after encountering bad weather, and the Army reported the plane as missing.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS), the military unit responsible for investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater, attempted to reach the reported crash site in March and November 1947, but were unsuccessful. In December that year, the AGRS determined reaching the site was too dangerous and the remains of the crew, including Pickup, be declared non-recoverable.

In 2008 and 2010, a third-party wreck hunter located and visited the crash site and reported seeing aircraft wreckage, military equipment, and possible human remains. In March 2014, the Pacific Aviation Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, confirmed wreckage photographs taken at the site in 2010 were consistent with a B-24. In August 2019, Abor Country, an Indian travel and expedition company, successfully reached the site, documented and recovered evidence, and recovered possible human remains, which they turned over to DPAA partner Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH), who was performing a DPAA recovery mission in India at the time. The items were then turned over to the Indian government. The COVID pandemic caused a delay in the evidence and possible remains being repatriated to the U.S., which finally was able to happen in March 2022.

Pickup’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, along with others still missing from WWII.

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

Pickup will be buried on Dec. 17, 2022, in Provo, Utah.

Soldier Killed  From Vietnam War Accounted For
October 27, 2022

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sanford I. Finger, 29

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sanford I. Finger, 29, of Miami Beach, Florida, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for.

In October 1971, Finger was assigned to the U.S. Army Element Vietnam, Army Air Force Regional Exchange, Pacific Exchange (Manager of the An Son Post Exchange), U.S. Army Headquarters Area Command. On Oct. 26, Finger was lost when the CH-47B Chinook helicopter on which he was a passenger went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Finger was not accounted for.

An unsuccessful recovery attempt was made in 1974 when divers from the Joint Casualty Resolution Center dove on what was believed to be the crash site. A number of investigation and recovery efforts took place between 1994 and 2021 with a June 2021 recovery mission finding possible human remains and material evidence.

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

Finger’s name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.

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

Finger’s burial date and location is yet to be determined.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
October 27, 2022

U.S. Army Sgt. Howard G. Malcolm, 23

U.S. Army Sgt. Howard G. Malcolm, 23, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted-for.

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

In late 1950, Malcolm was a member of Headquarters Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.

He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, North Korea.

In 1953, several POWs returned during Operation BIG SWITCH reported Malcolm had been a prisoner of war and died in August 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.

Pilot killed From World War II Accounted For
October 20, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Zelwood A. Gravlin, 21

U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Zelwood A. Gravlin, 21, New Vineyard, Maine, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Gravlin was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Gravlin was serving as the armorer-gunner was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

Gravlin’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.

Gravlin will be buried on Nov. 11, 2022, in Avon, Maine.

Navy Seaman 2nd Class Floyd F. Clifford, 20, of Mulvane, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

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 Clifford.

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

Clifford’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.

Clifford will be buried May 2, 2023, in Douglas, Kansas.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
October 20, 2022

U.S. Army Cpl. David N. Defibaugh, 18

U.S. Army Cpl. David N. Defibaugh, 18, of Duncansville, Pennsylvania, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 15, 2022.

In July 1950, Defibaugh was a member of C Company, 3rd Engineer Combat Battalion, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit was forced to retreat from the vicinity of Taejon, South Korea, on July 20. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war.

The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.

After regaining control of Taejon in the fall of 1950, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Taejon. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-12 Taejon. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-12, the remains were declared unidentifiable. They were later sent to Hawaii where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, with other Korean War Unknowns.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On June 10, 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-12 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Defibaugh’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.

Defibaugh will be buried Nov. 4, 2022, in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
October 20, 2022

Army Cpl. William M. Zoellick, 18

Army Cpl. William M. Zoellick, 18, of Des Plaines, Illinois, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for.

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.

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-14319, 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. In September 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14319 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

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

Zoellick’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.

Zoellick will be buried Nov. 10, 2022 in Belvidere, Illinois.

USS Oklahoma Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
October 6, 2022

Navy Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Edward L. Conway, 29

Navy Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Edward L. Conway, 29, of Auburn, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Conway 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 Conway.

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 Conway.

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

Conway’s 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.

Conway will be buried on Nov. 12, 2022, in Decatur, Illinois.

USS West Virginia Sailor killed From World War II Accounted For
October 5, 2022

Navy Machinst’s Mate 1st Class Keith W. Tipsword, 27

Navy Machinst’s Mate 1st Class Keith W. Tipsword, 27, of Moccasin, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Tipsword 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 Tipsword.

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 Tipsword, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

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

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

Tipsword’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.

Tipsword will be buried Nov. 15, 2022, in Beecher City, Illinois.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
October 4, 2022

U.S. Army Cpl. Leo J. Barlosky, 24

U.S. Army Cpl. Leo J. Barlosky, 24, Carbon County, Pennsylvania who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In late 1941, Barlosky was a member of the 7th Chemical Company, Aviation, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

Barlosky was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese.

They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Barlosky died July 27, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.

Leo J. Barlosky is memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Soldier Killed During the Korean War Accounted For
October 4, 2022

U.S. Army Cpl. Delbert L. White, 20

U.S. Army Cpl. Delbert L. White, 20, Wapello County, Iowa who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for.

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

In late 1950, White was a member of D Company, 2nd Engineer (Combat) Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division.

On Dec. 1, White and many other 2nd ID Soldiers were captured by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces as they attempted to block the CPVF and allow the rest of 2nd ID to escape south.

In August 1953, the CPVF sent a list to United Nations Command stating White died in March 1951 as a prisoner of war at POW Camp #1.

However, in September 1953, two returning American POWs said he died in February 1951 at POW Camp #5.

Despite conflicting reports, the Army determined March 18, 1951 was the latest White could have been alive and declared that his date of death.

Delbert L White is memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
October 4, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Clinton E. Smith, Jr., 19

U.S. Army Pfc. Clinton E. Smith, Jr., 19, Nueces County, Texas killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In January 1945, Smith was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

The unit was engaged with German forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France and was surrounded, along with four other companies.

Smith was killed in an artillery strike on Jan. 14, but his body could not be recovered because of the fighting.

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

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Paul W. Schmidt, 20

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Paul W. Schmidt, 20, New York killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In March 1945, Schmidt was assigned to 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 8th Air Force.

His squadron was engaged with attacking German lines of transportation along the Rhine River. On March 23, Schmidt was attacking an enemy train near Sendenhorst, Germany, in his F-6D Mustang fighter.

His wingman reported he last saw Schmidt attacking the train, but he was never seen or heard from again.

Schmidt was declared missing in action, but the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war.

On March 24, 1946, with no evidence Schmidt survived the fighting, the War Department issued a presumptive finding of death.

Paul W Schmidt is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing Lorraine American Cemetery St. Avold, France.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
October 4, 2022

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Rotunno, 27

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Rotunno, 27, New York killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In January 1945, Rotunno was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

The unit was engaged with German forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France and was surrounded, along with four other companies.

The surrounded companies were given the order to attempt a break-out on Jan. 20, but only two men made it through German lines.

The rest were either captured or killed. Rotunno was among those killed in the aftermath on Jan. 21, but his body could not be recovered because of the fighting.

Airman killed From World War II Accounted For
October 4, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. George E. Davies, 27

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. George E. Davies, 27, Multnomah County, Oregon 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, Davies was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force.

On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Davies was the assistant engineer was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed 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.

George E Davies is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
October 3, 2022

U.S. Army Pfc. Roy J. Searle, 22

U.S. Army Pfc. Roy J. Searle, 22, Providence County, Rhode Island killed during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In December 1944, Searle was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division.

His unit crossed the Saar River on Dec. 6 and attempted for the next two days to capture and hold two heavily defended towns Pachtener Kopfe and Rehlingen.

Searle was mortally wounded during enemy engagement on Dec. 9, and was reported to have died of his wounds near Rehlingen, Germany.

Roy J Searle is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France.

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

U.S. Army Pvt. J.C. Brooks, 19

U.S. Army Pvt. J.C. Brooks, 19, Kentucky who was 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, Brooks was a member of Company I, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

His unit was part of Operation HUSKY, the Allied effort from July 10 to Aug. 17 to capture Sicily from Benito Mussolini’s fascist Italian regime.

Brooks was killed during the Battle of Troina on Aug. 1 while leading an advance against German forces as first scout.

He was unable to be recovered because of the fighting.

J C Brooks is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy. 

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
September 28, 2022

U.S. Army Pvt. James R. Tash, 20

U.S. Army Pvt. James R. Tash, 20, Missouri who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for.

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

In late 1941, Tash was a member of F Company, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December.

Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

Tash was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese.

They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Tash died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.

James R Tash is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing Manila American Cemetery Manila, Philippines.

U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph J. Puopolo, 19, of East Boston, Massachusetts, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In late 1950, Puopolo was a member of C Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Infantry Division Artillery, 8th U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea, on Nov. 30, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on.

In 1953, four POWs who returned during Operation Big Switch reported Puopolo had been a prisoner of war and died in February 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.

In the late summer and fall of 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. None were associated with Puopolo.

One set of remains disinterred from Camp #5 returned during Operation Glory was designated Unknown X-14430 and buried at 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. In December 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14430 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.

Puopolo’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments 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.

Puopolo will be buried in Malden, Massachusetts, at a date yet to be determined.

U.S. Army Pfc. Adelaido M. Solis, 19, of Inez, Texas, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for.

In late 1950, Solis was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri, North Korea, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on.

In 1953, a POW returned during Operation Big Switch reported Solis had been a prisoner of war and died in April 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.

In the late summer and fall of 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. However, Solis’s name did not appear on any of the transfer rosters and the Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan, did not associate any repatriated remains with him. Solis was determined to be non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In November 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14719, a set of remains returned during Operation Glory, 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.

Solis’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.

Solis will be buried in Bloomington, Texas, on a date yet to be determined.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
September 23, 2022

U.S. Army Sgt. Garland W. Collier, 25

U.S. Army Sgt. Garland W. Collier, 25, of Coleman, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the fall of 1944, Collier was assigned to Headquarters Co., 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was reported killed in action during Operation MARKET GARDEN when his unit was attacked by German forces near Opheusden, The Netherlands. His body was unable to be recovered.

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 Opheusden could be identified as Collier. He was declared non-recoverable in November 1950.

In 2015, DPAA historians began working on a comprehensive research and recovery project focused on those missing from Operation MARKET GARDEN. During that work, they analyzed information about X-3324 Neuville, an unknown set of remains recovered from the civilian cemetery in Opheusden in 1946 and buried in what is today known as Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.

Following a multidisciplinary analysis from DPAA historians, forensic anthropologists, and odontologists, it was determined X-3324 could possibly be Collier. These remains were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

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

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

Collier will be buried Nov. 12, 2022, in his hometown.

Soldier killed From World War II Accounted For
September 22, 2022

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy Carney, 20

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy Carney, 20, of Electra, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for.

In the summer of 1943, Carney 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 Carney 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.