Press Release | Sept. 7, 2018

Funeral Announcement For Naval Aviator Killed During World War II (DeMoss, H.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted-for from World War II, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Navy Reserve Ensign Harold P. DeMoss, 21, of Nashville, Tennessee, accounted for on May 9, will be buried September 15 in his hometown. In the early morning hours of June 23, 1945, DeMoss was a member of Fighting Squadron 100 (VF-100), piloting an F6F-3 Hellcat from Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. DeMoss was accompanied by two other squadron aircraft for a night division tactics training flight. Following the completion of their flight plan, the pilots circled the island. At Kahuku Point, the northern tip of Oahu, the pilots encountered a layer of clouds. DeMoss climbed above the clouds and attempted to descend through them. His aircraft was not seen reemerging from the clouds and attempts to contact him via radio were unsuccessful. An immediate search for his aircraft began.

Later that morning, aircraft observed burning wreckage in the rugged, densely-forested terrain of the Ko’olau Mountain Range. On June 26, 1945, a search and rescue party hiked into the forest to locate the crash site. The search party found remains that could not immediately be identified near a crashed F6F aircraft.

On July 2, 1945, a second search team set out for the crash site to identify the plane. The team located material evidence identifying the wreckage as DeMoss’ F6F. On Aug. 30, 1945, DeMoss’ status was amended to deceased and in August 1949, his remains were declared non-recoverable.

From August to October 2016, personnel from DPAA conducted an excavation of the crash site, locating material evidence associated with DeMoss’ wreckage.

To identify DeMoss’ remains, scientists from DPAA used material and circumstantial evidence.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,866 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II.

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 | Sept. 6, 2018

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Baum, E.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, killed during World War II have been identified as those of Navy Seaman 1st Class Earl P. Baum. Baum, 19, born in Chicago, was accounted for on August 23.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Baum 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 Baum.

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 Baum.

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 Baum’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial 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, 866 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Baum’s name 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.

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

Baum will be buried March 8, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida.

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

Press Release | Sept. 5, 2018

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Crouchley, J.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, killed during World War II, have been identified as those of Army Air Forces 1st Lt. John D. Crouchley, Jr. Crouchley, 26, born in Providence, Rhode Island, was accounted for on August 31.

In June 1944, Crouchley served as a pilot with the 828th Bombardment Squadron, 485th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. On June 28, 1944, Crouchley was lost when his B-24H aircraft was shot down and crashed during a combat mission over Romania. The other nine crewmembers of the aircraft parachuted safely, were captured as prisoners of war in Bulgaria, and subsequently returned to duty. Only Crouchley, who stayed at the controls of the plane, keeping it in steady flight while the rest of the crew bailed out, remained unaccounted for. Because the crash occurred in enemy territory, American personnel were not able to conduct an immediate search, and Bulgaria provided no evidence that his remains were recovered or buried. Based on no further information of his status, he was declared deceased as of June 29, 1945.

Following the close of hostilities, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) searched for and disinterred the remains of U.S. service members who were killed in battle. Investigators compared Crouchley’s medical information to unidentified remains recovered in Bulgaria, but a positive match could not be made. On July 2, 1948, Crouchley’s remains were declared non-recoverable.

In 2010, an investigation team of analysts from the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (both predecessors of DPAA) conducted a site survey of the alleged crash site and interviewed potential witnesses. The site was consistent with the historical loss records, as well as eyewitness accounts. The team recovered weaponry bearing the serial number that correlated with Crouchley’s aircraft.

From July to September 2017, a DPAA recovery team excavated the crash site, overlooking the village of Churen. The team recovered possible osseous remains and material evidence. The remains were accessioned to the laboratory for analysis.

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

DPAA is grateful to Colonel Stanimir Stanev, Bulgarian Army, Retired, Jerry Whiting, historian for the 485th Bombardment Group, and the Bulgarian Government 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 72,866 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Crouchley’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruenta, Italy, along with others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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

Crouchley will be buried May 4, 2019, in Bristol, Rhode Island.

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

Press Release | Sept. 4, 2018

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

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, killed during World War II have been identified as those of Marine Corps Sgt. Millard Odom. Odom, 26, born in Batesville, Arkansas, was accounted for on August 20.

In November 1943, Odom was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd 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. Odom 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. Odom was reportedly buried in Cemetery #33. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947, but Odom’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.

On Feb. 27, 2017, DPAA disinterred Tarawa Unknown X-273 from the NMCP, and sent the remains to the laboratory.

To identify Odom’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, dental, anthropological 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 72,866 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Odom’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 information on funeral services, contact the Marine Corps Service Casualty office at (800) 847-1597.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing 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 | Sept. 4, 2018

Soldier Accounted-For From The Korean War (Falk, H.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, killed during the Korean War, have been identified as those of Army 1st Lt. Herman L. Falk. Falk, 22, of New York, New York, was accounted for on August 14.

In February 1951, Falk was a member of Company B, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, supporting Republic of Korea Army attacks against units of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in an the vicinity of Changbong-ni, South Korea. Falk, and half of his platoon, were reported missing in action on Feb. 12, 1951.

Following the war, returning American prisoners of war reported that Falk died in either April or May of 1951, while being held as a prisoner of war at the Suan Bean Camp in North Korea.

Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which were later determined to contain the remains of at least 400 U.S. servicemen who died during the war. First Lieutenant Falk’s remains were included in this turnover

To identify Falk’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis, dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material 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, 7,686 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. Falk’s 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 Service Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.

Falk will be buried April 11, 2019, in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.

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