Press Release | Jan. 8, 2019

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Lescault, L.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Buglemaster 2nd Class Lionel W. Lescault, 28, of Worcester, Massachusetts, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 24, 2018.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Lescault 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 Lescault.

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

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

In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the Punchbowl for analysis.

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

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this recovery.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,751 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Lescault’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.

For family information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.

Lescault will be buried Sept. 17, 2019, in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Press Release | Dec. 17, 2018

Marine Accounted For From World War II (Freet, F.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Reserve Pvt. Fred E. Freet, 18, of Marion, Indiana, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Aug. 6, 2018

In November 1943, Freet was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Freet died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943, during the first waves of the assault.

The battle of Tarawa was a significant victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island, including Cemetery #27. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947, but Freet’s remains were not identified. All of the remains found on Tarawa were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification in 1947. By 1949, the remains that had not been identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu.

In 2015, DPAA received a unilateral turnover from History Flight, Inc., a nongovernmental organization, of remains recovered from Cemetery #27 on Betio Island.

To identify Freet’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

DPAA is grateful to History Flight, Inc., for their partnership in this mission.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,766 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Freet’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others killed or lost in WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family contact information, contact the Marine Corps Service Casualty office at (800) 847-1597.

Freet will be buried April 19, 2019 in his hometown.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Press Release | Dec. 17, 2018

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Spangenberg, G.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. George L. Spangenberg, 30, of Pittsburgh, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on Aug. 14, 2018.

In November 1950, Spangenberg was a member of Company E, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 2, 1950 following a battle in Unsan, North Korea. Spangenberg’s name was never included on lists of American Soldiers being held as prisoners of war by the Korean People’s Army (KPA) or the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF,) and no returned American prisoners of war had any information on his status.

On Dec. 31, 1953, based on a lack of information regarding his status, Spangenberg was declared deceased. In January 1956, he was declared non-recoverable.

On Oct. 17, 1997, a joint KPA and U.S. recovery team recovered material evidence and possible remains of a U.S. serviceman, west of the town of Unsan, North Korea. The site is an area where Spangenberg’s regiment sustained heavy losses in early November, 1950. The recovered remains were sent to DPAA for identification.

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

DPAA remains fully prepared to resume recovery operations in the Democratic Republic of Korea, and looks forward to the continued fulfillment of the commitment made by President Trump and Chairman Kim on the return and recovery of U.S. service members in North Korea.

Today, 7,674 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American recovery teams. Spangenberg’s name is recorded at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family contact information, contact the Army Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.

Spangenberg will be buried May 16, 2019, in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Press Release | Dec. 17, 2018

Marine Accounted For From World War II (Salerno, M.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Pfc. Michael L. Salerno, 19, of Philadelphia, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 27, 2018.

In November 1943, Salerno was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Salerno died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943.

Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947, but Salerno’s remains were not identified. All of the remains found on Tarawa were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification in 1947. By 1949, the remains that had not been identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, including one set, designated Tarawa Unknown X-267.

On Jan. 30, 2017, DPAA disinterred Tarawa Unknown X-267 from the NMCP for identification.

To identify Salerno’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,766 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Salerno’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the NMCP, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family contact information, contact the Marine Corps Service Casualty office at (800) 847-1597.

Salerno will be buried April 27, 2019, in Philadelphia.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Press Release | Dec. 17, 2018

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Jones, W.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today Army Pfc. William H. Jones, 19, of Whitakers, North Carolina, was accounted for on Sept. 13, 2018.

In November 1950, Jones was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, engaged in attacks against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near Pakchon, North Korea. On Nov. 26, 1950, after his unit made a fighting withdrawal, he could not be accounted for and was reported missing in action.

Throughout the remainder of the war, the United Nations Command regularly requested that the CPVF and Korean People’s Army (KPA) provide lists of American and allied servicemen held in their custody. No lists provided included his name as a prisoner of war. Additionally, no returning American prisoners provided any information on Jones. Based on the lack of information, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953, and his remains were reported as non-recoverable.

On June 12, 2018, President Donald Trump met with North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, in the first meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea. The leaders signed a joint statement, including a commitment to return the remains American service members lost in North Korea.

On July 27, 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 Jones’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA), Y-chromosome (Y-STR) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis, dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

Today, 7,674 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American recovery teams. Jones’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family contact information, contact the Army Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.

Jones will be buried Aug. 22, 2019, in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.