{"id":144906,"date":"2023-07-26T07:32:35","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T11:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=144906"},"modified":"2023-07-25T22:54:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T02:54:09","slug":"four-more-accounted-for-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=144906","title":{"rendered":"Four More Accounted For"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>
Defense MIA\/POW Accounting Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\n

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Airman Accounted For From World War II<\/h2>\n

U.S. Army Air Forces Technical Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitz<\/h2>\n

The Defense POW\/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Technical Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitz, 22, of Hoopeston, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 5, 2023.<\/p>\n

In the summer of 1943, Reitz was assigned to 343d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Reitz was serving as a radio operator crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

To identify Reitz\u2019s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the\u00a0Armed Forces Medical Examiner System\u00a0used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.<\/p>\n

Reitz\u2019s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an\u00a0American Battle Monuments Commission<\/a>\u00a0site 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.<\/p>\n

Reitz will be buried in Williamsport, Indiana, on a date to be determined.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II<\/h2>\n

Navy Seaman 1st<\/sup>\u00a0Class Elmer P. Lawrence<\/h2>\n

The Defense POW\/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st<\/sup>\u00a0Class Elmer P. Lawrence, 25, of\u00a0Park City, Kentucky, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Feb. 1, 2021.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 7, 1941, Lawrence 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 Lawrence.<\/p>\n

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu\u2019uanu Cemeteries.<\/p>\n

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 Lawrence.<\/p>\n

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.<\/p>\n

To identify Lawrence\u2019s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the\u00a0Armed Forces Medical Examiner System\u00a0used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.<\/p>\n

Lawrence\u2019s\u00a0name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.<\/p>\n

Lawrence was buried on July 22, 2023, in Smiths Grove, Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Soldier Accounted For From World War II<\/h2>\n

U.S. Army Pvt. David S. Whipple<\/h2>\n

The Defense POW\/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. David S. Whipple, 23, of Plymouth, Indiana, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 15, 2022.<\/p>\n

In late 1941, Whipple was a member of the 27th<\/sup>\u00a0Materiel Squadron, 20th<\/sup>\u00a0Air Base 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.<\/p>\n

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.\u00a0 Whipple 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.<\/p>\n

According to prison camp and other historical records, Whipple died July 26, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

To identify Whipple\u2019s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the\u00a0Armed Forces Medical Examiner System<\/a>\u00a0used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.<\/p>\n

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Whipple\u2019s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the\u00a0American Battle Monuments Commission<\/a>\u00a0(ABMC).<\/p>\n

Whipple will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on a date to be later determined.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Soldier Accounted For From World War II<\/h2>\n

U.S. Army Cpl. Leo J. Barlosky<\/h2>\n

The Defense POW\/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Leo J. Barlosky, 24, of Audenried, Pennsylvania, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 27, 2022.<\/p>\n

In late 1941, Barlosky was a member of the 7th<\/sup>\u00a0Chemical 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.<\/p>\n

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.\u00a0Barlosky 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 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.<\/p>\n

In early 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.<\/p>\n

To identify Barlosky\u2019s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the\u00a0Armed Forces Medical Examiner System\u00a0used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.<\/p>\n

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Barlosky\u2019s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the\u00a0American Battle Monuments Commission<\/a>\u00a0(ABMC).<\/p>\n

Barlosky will be buried in Arlington National Cemetary, on a date later to be determined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Airman Accounted For From World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Technical Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitz … Four More Accounted For<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":654,"featured_media":138969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-no-longer-missing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/654"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}