Category: No Longer Missing

The remains of a soldier missing since World War II will be buried today in Bethlehem, PA.

PVT William Yawney, 105th Infantry regiment, 27th Infantry Division, US Army, formerly of Freemansburg, PA, was lost during operations on Saipan during June-July 1944.  His remains could not be located for repatriation after the war.  In 1948, his remains were declared unrecoverable.

However, on 3 September 2011 a private archeological firm excavating land near Achugao Village, Saipan, located human remains.  These remains were turned over to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC).  Modern forensic techniques including mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) matching conclusively identified the remains as being those of PVT Yawney.

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.

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

• 1LT Robert G. Fenstermacher, 506th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group, US Army Air Forces, was lost on 26 December 1944 near Petergensfeld, Belgium.  He was accounted for on 30 April 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors in the fall of 2013 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
• MSG Olen B. Williams, K Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 12 December 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.  He was accounted for on 1 May 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors on 9 June 2013 in Clanton, Alabama.
• PFC James L. Constant, Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 8 September 1950, near Changnyong, South Korea.  He was accounted for on 1 May 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors 18 May 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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

My apologies to all for missing this earlier.  In late February, DPMO announced the identification of another US MIA from SE Asia.

HM3 Michael B. Judd, US Navy, atttached to Company A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, was lost on 30 June 1967 in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. He was declared accounted for on 27 February 2013. He will be buried with full military honors on 15 July 2013 in Arlington National Cemetery.

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

 

DMPO recently announced the recovery of 2 US MIAs from World War II.

SGTs Jerome E. Kiger and Charles R. Marshall, US Army Air Forces, were lost on 21 July 1944 near Drobling, Germany. They were accounted for on 10 Apr 2013 and 9 April 2013. SGT Kigler will be buried with full military honors 21 July 2013 in Mannington, West Virginia.  SGT Marshall will be buried this spring in Allen, Kentucky.

Welcome home, my elder brother-in-arms.  May you now 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 recently announced the identification of another US MIA from Southeast Asia.

LT Dennis W. Peterson, ENS Donald P. Frye, and Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Technicians William B. Jackson and Donald P. McGrane, USN,  were lost on 19 July 196, when their SH-3A Sea King helicopter was shot down in Ha Nam Province, North Vietnam.  Peterson’s remains were definitively identified and he was declared accounted for on March 30, 2012. Frye, Jackson and McGrane were accounted for in 1982. They were buried with full military honors today in a group ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms; welcome home.  All honor and respect you, and to your fallen comrades resting beside you.

. . .

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.

(Edited to add:  today’s Navy Times has an excellent article on the internment at Arlington.  It’s worth a read.  I’m giving this article a temporary bump to highlight the Navy Times link.)

DPMO has announced the identification of another US MIA from Korea.  DPMO also announced burial ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery for 13 US MIAs from Southeast Asia and 1 US MIA from Korea.

SGT Charles Allen, assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 31 March 1951 near Pyoktong, North Korea.  He was accounted for on 19 April 2013. He will be buried with full military honors in May 2013, in Dallas, TX.

In related news, DMPO announced that MSG Robert A. Stein, 31st Regimental Combat Team, US Army – previously announced as having been positively identified in February 2013 by DPMO – was buried on 27 April 2013 at Arlington National Cemetery.

DPMO also announced that 2d Lt Richard Vandegeer, USAF; Hospital Corpsman 1^st Class Bernard Gause, Jr., and Hospitalman Ronald J. Manning, USN;  and LCpl Gregory S. Copenhaver, LCpl Andres Garcia, Pfc Daniel A. Benedett, Pfc Lynn Blessing, Pfc Walter Boyd, Pfc James J. Jacques, Pfc James R. Maxwell, Pfc Richard W. Rivenburgh, Pfc Antonio R. Sandoval, and Pfc Kelton R. Turner, USMC; will be buried in a group ceremony on 15 May 2013 at Arlington National Cemetery. These individuals were lost on 15 May 1975 near Koh Tang Island, Cambodia, when their aircraft crashed at sea after being hit by enemy fire during combat operations relating to the Mayaguez Incident.

Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Welcome 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 another US MIA from Southeast Asia.

Maj. Howard V. Andre, US Air Force, formerly of Memphis, TN, was lost on July 8, 1969, near Xiangkhoang Province, Laos.  He was declared formally accounted for (remains repatriated and positively identified) on 11 April 2013.  Maj.  Andre was the navigator for the aircraft piloted that day by Maj. James E. Sizemore.  Both were lost when their A-26A was downed by ground fire during an armed reconnaissance mission conducted as part of “secret war” operations in Laos (Operation Barrel Roll).  At the time of loss, both were assigned to the 609th Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand.

Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms.  A belated welcome 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 1,650 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 – one from from World War II, and one from Southeast Asia.

SSG Ray E. Thompson, US Army Air Forces, formerly of Portland, OR, was buried on 10 April 2013, in Pendleton, OR. On May 7, 1944, Thompson was a member of the crew of a B-24D Liberator that departed Nadzab, New Guinea. Due to mechanical troubles, the B-24D was delayed in departing the airbase and was unable to join the formation after takeoff.  The aircraft, SSG Thompson, and the nine others aboard the plane were never seen again after takeoff. In 1946, the War Department declared all ten men presumed dead.  SSG Thompson’s remains were recovered in 2008 and definitively identified using modern forensic techniques.  SSG Thompson appears to have been a crew member on board 1LT John E. Terpning’s aircraft.

Maj. James E. Sizemore, US Air Force, formerly of San Diego, CA, was lost on July 8, 1969, near Xiangkhoang Province, Laos.  He was declared formally accounted for (remains repatriated and positively identified) on 9 April 2013.  Maj. Sizemore and his navigator, Maj. Howard V. Andre, Jr., were lost when their A-26A was downed by ground fire during an armed reconnaissance mission conducted as part of “secret war” operations in Laos (Operation Barrel Roll).  At the time of loss, they were assigned to the 609th Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand.  Maj. Andre’s remains have yet to be repatriated and/or declared definitively identified.

Rest now in peace, my elder brothers-in-arms.  You’re finally 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 1,650 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.