Category: No Longer Missing

Some TAH readers might wonder if JPAC really uses mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).  Yes, they do.

The remains of one Airman recently identified here as No Longer Missing – SGT Dominic J. Licari, US Army Air Forces were recovered from a 1944 crash site last year.  He was identified using various forensic techniques.  In this case, the mtDNA recovered from his remains in a 68-year-old crash site in the mountains of Papua New Guinea was matched with a sample obtained from his brother.

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  JPAC does not have mtDNA samples for all of them.

If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify, please submit a sample.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified – or which may be recovered in the future.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

DPMO has announced the identification of two US MIAs from World War II.

• 2nd. Lt. Valorie L. Pollard and Sgt. Dominick J. Licari,US Army Air Forces, were lost on 13 March 1944 in northeastern New Guinea. They were accounted for on 19 July 2013 and 17 July 2013, respectively.

Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest now in peace.

. . .

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

DPMO has announced the identification of a US MIA from Southeast Asia.

SP5 John L. Burgess, formerly of Sutton Bay, MI, B Company, 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, US Army, was lost in action on 30 June 1970.  SP5 Burgess was crew chief on a UH-1H that was hit by enemy fire, crashed, and burned near the Vietnam-Cambodian border in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam.  Also killed in the crash were 1LT Leslie F. Douglas, Jr.; 1LT Richard Dyer; and SFC Juan Colon-Diaz.  A fifth crew member – PFC John Goosman – was thrown clear of the wreckage, survived, and was rescued.

Remains for Douglas, Dyer, and Colon-Diaz have been previously identified and individually interned.  However, until recently no remains belonging to SP5 Burgess had been definitively identified.  Subsequent investigations conducted between 1992 and 2012 recovered additional remains that were later identified as belonging to Burgess.

Remains representing Dyer, Colon-Diaz, and Burgess were buried in a single-casket ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on 2 July 2013.

 

Welcome home, my elder brother-in-arms.  Rest in peace.

. . .

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

DPMO has announced the identification of three US MIAs from Korea and one US MIA from Southeast Asia.

• CPL Glydon E. Moyer, Battery D, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, US Army, was lost on 2 December 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.  He was accounted for on 13 June 2013. He will be buried with full military honors on 25 July 2013 in Luray, VA.
• SFC William Robinson, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, US Army, was lost on 12 December 1950 near Hagaru-ri, North Korea. He was accounted for on 17 June 2013. He will be buried with full military honors on 7 August 2013 in Indiantown Gap, PA.
• SGT Clement Thibodeaux Jr., U.S. Army, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 28 November 1950 near the Ch’ongch’on River, North Korea. He was accounted for 13 June 2013. He will be buried with full military honors in Church Point, LA.  The date and place of SGT Thibodeaux’s interment has not been announced.
• Lt. Col. Robert E. Pietsch, 609th Air Commando Squadron, USAF, was lost on 30 Apr 1968 near Savannakhet Province, Laos.  He was lost in the same incident that claimed Maj. Louis F. Guillerman.  Lt. Col. Pietsch was accounted for on 31 May 2013. He and Maj. Guillerman will be buried in a group ceremony with full military honors on 16 October 2013 at Arlington National Cemetery.

Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest in well-earned peace.

. . .

In a previous article, I noted the identification of the remains of 3 US servicemen.  Here is a bit more information on one of them:  CPL Marvin E. Omans.   His story, though brief, is worth a look.  It appears that four generations of his family – including his elder sister, Dorothy Martin – were there for his funeral.

. . .

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

DPMO has announced the identification of one US MIA from World War II and two US MIAs from Korea.

• Pfc Manlet F. Winkley, Company B, 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, USMC, was lost on 23 November 1943 on Tarawa Atoll in the Central Pacific (now part of the Republic of Kiribati).  He was accounted for on 1 June 2013. He will be buried with full military honors on 24 August 2013 in Marion, Indiana.
• PFC Armando Alvarez, Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 2 December 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.  He was accounted for on 6 June 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors in the summer of 2013.
• SFC Joseph D. Steinberg, Battery C, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, US Army, was lost on 13 February 1951 near Hoengsong, South Korea.  He was accounted for on 30 May 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors in the summer of 2013, in San Bruno, Calif.

Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest in now peace – at home.

. . .

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

DPMO has announced the identification of two US MIAs from Korea and one US MIA from Southeast Asia.

• CPL Donald V. Maclean, Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 2 December1950 near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.  He was accounted for on 22 May 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors this summer in Cary, Illinois.
• CPL Marvin E. Omans, Company I, 3^rd Battalion, 31^st Regimental Combat Team, US Army was lost on 3 December 1950 near Sinhung-ri, North Korea.  He was accounted for on 21 May 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors on 24 June 2013 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
• Maj. Louis F. Guillerman, 609th Air Commando Squadron, US Air Force, was lost on 30 April 1968 near Savannakhet Province, Laos.  He was accounted for on 28 May 2013. Information concerning Maj. Guillerman’s burial has not yet been made public.

Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest now in peace.

. . .

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

The remains of a soldier missing since Korea were identified earlier this year.  Regrettably, I missed that fact at the time and did not note it here at TAH.

PFC Weldon A. Davis, B Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, US Army, formerly of Tioga, TX, was lost during operations against Chines Communist forces south of the Ch’ongch’on River, North Korea, on 30 November 1950.  He was last seen in the vicinity of Somindong, North Korea.

US POWs released in 1953 during “Operation Big Switch” reported that PFC Davis had in fact been captured alive, but had died in captivity in January 1951 of malnutrition and pneumonia.  PFC Davis’ remains were not among those returned to US custody after the war.

Excavation in 2005 by a joint US-North Korean team at a secondary burial site in Unsan County, North Korea, discovered human remains.  These remains were returned to US control and repatriated.  Modern forensic techniques and circumstantial evidence positively identified the remains as those of PFC Davis in January of this year.

Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms.  Welcome home at last.

. . .

Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please read this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.  By submitting a mtDNA sample you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave all in the service of this nation.

You probably read Hondo’s post about Army Pfc. James L. Constant coming home from Korea nearly 63 years after he was killed in the war there. The Indy Star reports that he was buried this Memorial Day weekend near Indianapolis after a long, slow journey;

He died at age 19 on Sept. 8, 1950, during a fierce battle in what is now South Korea. His body was soon recovered, but couldn’t be identified. He was buried and transferred to several places abroad and in Hawaii, where other unidentified Korean War casualties are buried, before a successful identification was made last year, primarily through dental records.

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office tells the longer story about his trip home;

Army Pfc. James L. Constant, 19, of Beach Grove, Ind., will be buried May 25, in Indianapolis, Ind. In late 1950, Constant and elements of 2nd Infantry Division (ID) were defending the Naktong Bulge, near Changnyong, South Korea, when they were attacked by enemy forces. As a result of the battle, Constant and many other service members were reported missing.

In September 1950, the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service (AGRS) recovered the remains of a U.S. serviceman from a battlefield near Changnyong, South Korea. The remains were buried in a local 24th ID cemetery in Miryang, South Korea and were later transferred to the United Nations Cemetery in Tanggok. Several months later, the remains were disinterred and transferred to the U.S. Army’s Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan for laboratory analysis.

In April 1955 a military review board declared the remains unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were transferred to Hawaii, where they were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the “Punchbowl.”

In 2012, analysts from JPAC reevaluated Constant’s records and determined that, due to the advances in technology, the remains recovered from the area near Changnyong should be exhumed for identification.

The Indy Star says that his surviving sisters, Betty Kelley, Margaret Rigdon and a nephew were present at the final ceremony to receive the flag from his coffin;

Pat Lewis and husband Donald, a Korean War veteran, came to show their respect Saturday.

“It’s a sad day, but it’s a happy day to be able to have him back,” she said. “I can’t imagine waiting all those years to bring him home.”

And we always bring them home.