Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During Korean War (Reagan, T.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan, 18, of Lebanon, Indiana, and accounted for on March 30, will be buried July 6 in Pensacola, Florida. In August 1950, Reagan was assigned to Company A, 14th Engineer Combat Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, participating in the defense of the 24th ID’s main supply route and the town of Yongsan in an area known as the Naktong Bulge, in South Korea. Reagan’s company, an engineer unit, was overwhelmed and outmaneuvered by the Korean People’s Army, and utilized as an infantry unit in an attempt to hold open the supply route. On Aug. 12, 1950, the company was able to withdraw to a safe area to account for their Soldiers. Reagan could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action.
An Unknown, labeled X-165 Tanggok, buried in the division’s cemetery at Miryang, South Korea, was recovered on Sept. 12, 1950. Attempts to associate the remains with unresolved U.S. casualties were unsuccessful and they were declared unidentifiable. The remains were buried in the National Memorial of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, as a Korean War Unknown.
After thorough scientific and historical analysis, it was deemed that X-165 could likely be identified. On May 19, 2014, a request to exhume X-165 was made and approved. The remains were disinterred and sent to the laboratory for identification.
To identify Reagan’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,699 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. Reagan’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:33:532025-04-02 02:33:54Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During Korean War
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan, 18, of Lebanon, Indiana, and accounted for on March 30, will be buried July 6 in Pensacola, Florida. In August 1950, Reagan was assigned to Company A, 14th Engineer Combat Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, participating in the defense of the 24th ID’s main supply route and the town of Yongsan in an area known as the Naktong Bulge, in South Korea. Reagan’s company, an engineer unit, was overwhelmed and outmaneuvered by the Korean People’s Army, and utilized as an infantry unit in an attempt to hold open the supply route. On Aug. 12, 1950, the company was able to withdraw to a safe area to account for their Soldiers. Reagan could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action.
An Unknown, labeled X-165 Tanggok, buried in the division’s cemetery at Miryang, South Korea, was recovered on Sept. 12, 1950. Attempts to associate the remains with unresolved U.S. casualties were unsuccessful and they were declared unidentifiable. The remains were buried in the National Memorial of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, as a Korean War Unknown.
After thorough scientific and historical analysis, it was deemed that X-165 could likely be identified. On May 19, 2014, a request to exhume X-165 was made and approved. The remains were disinterred and sent to the laboratory for identification.
To identify Reagan’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,699 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. Reagan’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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, (703) 699-1420/1169.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:33:122025-04-02 02:33:14Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Captured and Killed During Korean War (Hall, J.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, captured during m the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Sgt. John W. Hall, 23, of Jennings, Louisiana, accounted for on June 6, 2017, will be buried July 6 in Houston. In late November 1950, Hall was a member of Headquarters Battery, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On Nov. 29, 1950, Hall’s unit received orders to move from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, North Korea. The division received reports that the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) had set up fireblocks on several roads, including their planned withdrawal route. The division organized a movement into convoys, with Hall in the eighth convoy. Hall’s battalion began their withdrawal through an area known as “The Gauntlet.” Hall was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, in the vicinity of Somindong, North Korea.
Following the war, one returning American prisoner of war reported that Hall had been captured and died on January 26, 1951 at Hofong Camp, or “Death Valley,” part of the Pukchin-Tarigol Camp Cluster.
Although the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hoped to recover American remains that remained north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone after the war, administrative details between the United Nations Command and North Korea complicated recovery efforts. An agreement was made and in September and October 1954, in what was known as Operation Glory, remains were returned. However, Hall’s remains were not included and he was declared non-recoverable.
In April and May 2005, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (predecessor to DPAA) and Korean People’s Army (KPA) recovery team conducted the 37th Joint Field Activity in Unsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. Remains were found in what was believed to have been a secondary burial site, and were sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu for analysis.
To identify Hall’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,699 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. Hall’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:32:152025-04-02 02:32:16Sgt. John W. Hall
Funeral Announcement For Airman Killed During World War II (Mathews, P.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, recently accounted-for from World War II, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Percy C. Mathews, 25, of Andalusia, Alabama, accounted for on March 26, will be buried June 28 in Pensacola, Florida. On May 29, 1943, Mathews was a member of the 422nd Bombardment Squadron, 305th Bombardment Group, 8th U.S. Air Force, participating in a strike against the German submarine base at Saint-Nazaire, France. The B-17 Mathews was aboard was hit by enemy fire as it left the target area. Mathews did not make it out of the bomber before it crashed. Survivors believed the aircraft crashed approximately 150 kilometers from Saint-Nazaire, near the French village of Quintin. German reports indicated one casualty was recovered from the wreckage of the plane, though no burial information was provided.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) searched for and disinterred the remains of U.S. servicemen in Europe as part of the global effort to identify and return fallen servicemen. Remains that could not be identified were designated as unknowns and interred in U.S. overseas cemeteries. Beginning in 2010, DPAA and its predecessors digitized and began to analyze more than 8,000 files for Unknowns from WWII.
One set of unidentified remains, designated X-205 St. James, were disinterred from a cemetery in St. Brieuc, France, prior to Sept. 16, 1944. The remains could not be identified and were interred in the American cemetery at St. James, present day Brittany American Cemetery.
In May 2015, a French researcher, Daniel Dahiot, provided DPAA with a page from the St. Brieuc West Cemetery burial register, showing the names of Americans who were interred there during World War II, including Mathews. On April 4, 2017, following thorough historical research and analysis, by DPAA analysts, of unit records and AGRS recovery reports, X-205 was disinterred.
To identify Mathews’ remains, DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA), anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to Mr. Dahiot, the French government and the American Battle Monuments Commission 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 72,906 service members (approximately 26,000 assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Although interred as an “unknown” Mathews’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission. Mathews’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in the United Kingdom, an American Battle Monuments Commission site. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:31:102025-04-02 02:31:11Staff Sgt. Percy C. Mathews
Funeral Announcement For Airmen Killed During World War II (Brady, Chandler, Liekhus, Shoemaker, Younger)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of five U.S. servicemen, accounted-for from World War II, are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are: Tech Sgt. John F. Brady, 26, of Taunton, Massachusetts; Tech Sgt. Allen A. Chandler, Jr., 23, of Fletcher, Oklahoma; 1st Lt. John H. Liekhus, 29, of Anaheim, California; Staff Sgt. Robert O. Shoemaker, 23, of Takoma Park, Maryland; and Staff Sgt. Bobby J. Younger, 19, of McKinney, Texas, all U.S. Army Air Forces, accounted for on Aug. 10, 2017. These men will be buried as a group June 27 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.
On Nov. 2, 1944, the Airmen were members of the 323rd Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force. Their nine-man aircrew was on a mission to Merseburg, Germany, when their plane was hit by flak during the bomb run. As the B-17 fell out of formation, German fighters attacked. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft burst into flames and descend rapidly. It crashed two kilometers southwest of the town of Barby. Three crewmembers survived and were taken as prisoners of war. One airman who was killed was identified in May 1945. Brady, Chandler, Liekhus, Shoemaker and Younger were all declared missing in action. In January 1951, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) concluded that the five unaccounted-for crew members perished in the crash and the location of their remains was unknown.
Department of Defense historians and analysts, aided by German researchers and local government officials, located a potential crash site associated with their loss. Recovery operations were conducted from June to September 2015. Recovery teams found osseous remains, material evidence and aircraft wreckage.
DPAA returned to the crash site in April and May 2016, locating additional osseous remains, material evidence and aircraft wreckage, consolidating them with the evidence from the previous operations.
Three of the crew, Brady, Shoemaker and Younger, were able to be individually identified through mitochondrial DNA analysis, forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence. The remains that could not be individually identified represented the entire crew.
DPAA is grateful to the German government for their assistance 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 72,906 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Brady’s, Chandler’s, Liekhus’, Shoemaker’s and Younger’s names are recorded on the Walls of the Missing on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to each name to indicate they have been accounted for.
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
Funeral Announcement For USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed During World War II (Schoonover, J.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman from World War II have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class John H. Schoonover, 39, of Port Edwards, Wisconsin, accounted for on Aug. 14, 2017, will be buried June 26 in Pensacola, Florida. On Dec. 7, 1941, Schoonover 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 Schoonover.
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 Schoonover.
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 NMCP for analysis.
To identify Schoonover’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons and anthropological analysis.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,917 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Schoonover’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 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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:25:522025-04-02 02:25:54Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class John H. Schoonover
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During Korean War (Baker, David)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, recently accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Pfc. David Baker, 18, of Gary, Indiana, accounted for on January 31, will be buried June 23 in Hobart, Indiana. In late November 1950, Baker was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, positioned in the vicinity of Yongbyong, North Korea. Baker’s battalion moved north and lost contact with two other regiments. On Nov. 25, 1950, 3rd BN met with enemy resistance and was attacked by Chinese People’s Volunteer Force. The battalion suffered heavy casualties and Baker was declared missing in action as of Nov. 28, 1950, when he could not be accounted for by his unit. Later reports indicate that baker was likely captured by the enemy during battle.
Although the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hoped to recover American remains that remained north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone after the war, administrative details between the United Nations Command and North Korea complicated recovery efforts. An agreement was made and in September and October 1954, in what was known as Operation Glory, remains were returned. However, Baker’s remains were not included, and he was declared non-recoverable.
In December 1993, North Korea turned over 34 boxes of remains, which were sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu. One box was reportedly exhumed from Tongju-ri, a village near Prisoner of War Camp 5. While no returning prisoners of war reported Baker as a prisoner, where the remains were recovered indicated he had been captured.
To identify Baker’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,702 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. Baker’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:24:172025-04-02 02:24:18Pfc. David Baker
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During World War II (Husak, L.)
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.
Army Staff Sgt. Leo J. Husak, 21, of West, Texas, accounted for on February 12, will be buried June 23 in his hometown. In January 1945, Husak was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 309th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division, serving in the European theater. Husak was killed during a combat patrol on Jan. 30, 1945 in Germany’s Hürtgen Forest. The offensive in the forest was one of the longest battles the United States fought during World War II, lasting for nearly five months.
Due to the ongoing fighting, Husak’s remains were not recovered by members of his unit during the battle. After the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) collected hundreds of unknown sets of remains from battlefields in Germany, and labeled each set with an X-number. One set of remains, designated X-1043 Margraten, had been recovered from an area in the Hürtgen Forest where Husak was believed to have been killed. The AGRC was unable to identify the remains and buried them at Margraten in June 1945 as an unknown.
In March 1947, personnel from the AGRC reprocessed the remains but were unable to associate the remains with any American service members. They were again reinterred in Margraten in July 1949.
In October 2016, DPAA researchers made a historical association between X-1043 Margraten and Husak, based on the recovery site of the remains and where he was killed. On June 13, 2017, the remains were disinterred and repatriated to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
To identify Husak’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission 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 72,917 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Husak’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing, the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium. Although interred as an “unknown,” Husak’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:22:142025-04-02 02:23:38Staff Sgt. Leo J. Husak
Funeral Announcement For Airman Killed During World War II (Davis, R.)
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.
Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy F. Davis, 26, of Peterborough, New Hampshire, accounted for on June 7, 2017, will be buried June 23 in Ashby, Massachusetts. On March 12, 1944, Davis was a member of the 13th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Group, as one of two crewmembers aboard an A-20G Havoc bomber that failed to return to base in northeastern New Guinea after attacking enemy targets on the island.
Attempts to locate the aircraft and crew, both during and after the war, were unsuccessful. The War Department declared Davis, as well the other crewmember, 2nd Lt. Vernal J. Bird, deceased on June 30, 1949; their remains were listed as non-recoverable.
In September 2001, a team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory (a predecessor to DPAA) located a crash site in a remote area of Papua New Guinea. A native Papuan turned over pieces of wreckage he claimed to have recovered from the crash site. The team also recovered possible remains. On July 15, 2013, the remains were identified as Bird’s.
In February and March 2016, a DPAA Recovery Team excavated the crash site, and recovered additional remains and material evidence. The remains were subsequently sent to the DPAA laboratory.
To identify Davis’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) analysis, which matched his family, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, 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 72,917 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Davis’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:20:112025-04-02 02:20:13Staff Sgt. Roy F. Davis
Funeral Announcement For Marine Killed During World War II (Mac Donald, J.)
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.
Marine Pfc. John W. Mac Donald, 19, of Somerville, Massachusetts, accounted for on Aug. 15, 2016, will be buried June 22 in Bourne, Massachusetts. In November 1943, Mac Donald was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 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. Mac Donald 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. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but Mac Donald’s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Mac Donald remains non-recoverable.
In June 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight, Inc., notified DPAA that they discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
To identify Mac Donald’s remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, including anthropological analysis and dental and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched Mac Donald’s records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to History Flight, Inc. 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 72,917 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Mac Donald’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 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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-02 02:18:502025-04-02 02:18:51Pfc. John W. Mac Donald
Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 29, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During Korean War (Reagan, T.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan, 18, of Lebanon, Indiana, and accounted for on March 30, will be buried July 6 in Pensacola, Florida. In August 1950, Reagan was assigned to Company A, 14th Engineer Combat Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, participating in the defense of the 24th ID’s main supply route and the town of Yongsan in an area known as the Naktong Bulge, in South Korea. Reagan’s company, an engineer unit, was overwhelmed and outmaneuvered by the Korean People’s Army, and utilized as an infantry unit in an attempt to hold open the supply route. On Aug. 12, 1950, the company was able to withdraw to a safe area to account for their Soldiers. Reagan could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action.
An Unknown, labeled X-165 Tanggok, buried in the division’s cemetery at Miryang, South Korea, was recovered on Sept. 12, 1950. Attempts to associate the remains with unresolved U.S. casualties were unsuccessful and they were declared unidentifiable. The remains were buried in the National Memorial of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, as a Korean War Unknown.
After thorough scientific and historical analysis, it was deemed that X-165 could likely be identified. On May 19, 2014, a request to exhume X-165 was made and approved. The remains were disinterred and sent to the laboratory for identification.
To identify Reagan’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,699 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. Reagan’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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.
Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 29, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During Korean War
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Thomas W. Reagan, 18, of Lebanon, Indiana, and accounted for on March 30, will be buried July 6 in Pensacola, Florida. In August 1950, Reagan was assigned to Company A, 14th Engineer Combat Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, participating in the defense of the 24th ID’s main supply route and the town of Yongsan in an area known as the Naktong Bulge, in South Korea. Reagan’s company, an engineer unit, was overwhelmed and outmaneuvered by the Korean People’s Army, and utilized as an infantry unit in an attempt to hold open the supply route. On Aug. 12, 1950, the company was able to withdraw to a safe area to account for their Soldiers. Reagan could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action.
An Unknown, labeled X-165 Tanggok, buried in the division’s cemetery at Miryang, South Korea, was recovered on Sept. 12, 1950. Attempts to associate the remains with unresolved U.S. casualties were unsuccessful and they were declared unidentifiable. The remains were buried in the National Memorial of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, as a Korean War Unknown.
After thorough scientific and historical analysis, it was deemed that X-165 could likely be identified. On May 19, 2014, a request to exhume X-165 was made and approved. The remains were disinterred and sent to the laboratory for identification.
To identify Reagan’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,699 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. Reagan’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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, (703) 699-1420/1169.
Sgt. John W. Hall
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 29, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Captured and Killed During Korean War (Hall, J.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, captured during m the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Sgt. John W. Hall, 23, of Jennings, Louisiana, accounted for on June 6, 2017, will be buried July 6 in Houston. In late November 1950, Hall was a member of Headquarters Battery, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On Nov. 29, 1950, Hall’s unit received orders to move from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, North Korea. The division received reports that the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) had set up fireblocks on several roads, including their planned withdrawal route. The division organized a movement into convoys, with Hall in the eighth convoy. Hall’s battalion began their withdrawal through an area known as “The Gauntlet.” Hall was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, in the vicinity of Somindong, North Korea.
Following the war, one returning American prisoner of war reported that Hall had been captured and died on January 26, 1951 at Hofong Camp, or “Death Valley,” part of the Pukchin-Tarigol Camp Cluster.
Although the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hoped to recover American remains that remained north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone after the war, administrative details between the United Nations Command and North Korea complicated recovery efforts. An agreement was made and in September and October 1954, in what was known as Operation Glory, remains were returned. However, Hall’s remains were not included and he was declared non-recoverable.
In April and May 2005, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (predecessor to DPAA) and Korean People’s Army (KPA) recovery team conducted the 37th Joint Field Activity in Unsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. Remains were found in what was believed to have been a secondary burial site, and were sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu for analysis.
To identify Hall’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,699 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. Hall’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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.
Staff Sgt. Percy C. Mathews
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 21, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Airman Killed During World War II (Mathews, P.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, recently accounted-for from World War II, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Percy C. Mathews, 25, of Andalusia, Alabama, accounted for on March 26, will be buried June 28 in Pensacola, Florida. On May 29, 1943, Mathews was a member of the 422nd Bombardment Squadron, 305th Bombardment Group, 8th U.S. Air Force, participating in a strike against the German submarine base at Saint-Nazaire, France. The B-17 Mathews was aboard was hit by enemy fire as it left the target area. Mathews did not make it out of the bomber before it crashed. Survivors believed the aircraft crashed approximately 150 kilometers from Saint-Nazaire, near the French village of Quintin. German reports indicated one casualty was recovered from the wreckage of the plane, though no burial information was provided.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) searched for and disinterred the remains of U.S. servicemen in Europe as part of the global effort to identify and return fallen servicemen. Remains that could not be identified were designated as unknowns and interred in U.S. overseas cemeteries. Beginning in 2010, DPAA and its predecessors digitized and began to analyze more than 8,000 files for Unknowns from WWII.
One set of unidentified remains, designated X-205 St. James, were disinterred from a cemetery in St. Brieuc, France, prior to Sept. 16, 1944. The remains could not be identified and were interred in the American cemetery at St. James, present day Brittany American Cemetery.
In May 2015, a French researcher, Daniel Dahiot, provided DPAA with a page from the St. Brieuc West Cemetery burial register, showing the names of Americans who were interred there during World War II, including Mathews. On April 4, 2017, following thorough historical research and analysis, by DPAA analysts, of unit records and AGRS recovery reports, X-205 was disinterred.
To identify Mathews’ remains, DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA), anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to Mr. Dahiot, the French government and the American Battle Monuments Commission 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 72,906 service members (approximately 26,000 assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Although interred as an “unknown” Mathews’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission. Mathews’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in the United Kingdom, an American Battle Monuments Commission site. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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.
Brady, Chandler, Liekhus, Shoemaker, Younger
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 21, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Airmen Killed During World War II (Brady, Chandler, Liekhus, Shoemaker, Younger)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of five U.S. servicemen, accounted-for from World War II, are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are: Tech Sgt. John F. Brady, 26, of Taunton, Massachusetts; Tech Sgt. Allen A. Chandler, Jr., 23, of Fletcher, Oklahoma; 1st Lt. John H. Liekhus, 29, of Anaheim, California; Staff Sgt. Robert O. Shoemaker, 23, of Takoma Park, Maryland; and Staff Sgt. Bobby J. Younger, 19, of McKinney, Texas, all U.S. Army Air Forces, accounted for on Aug. 10, 2017. These men will be buried as a group June 27 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.
On Nov. 2, 1944, the Airmen were members of the 323rd Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force. Their nine-man aircrew was on a mission to Merseburg, Germany, when their plane was hit by flak during the bomb run. As the B-17 fell out of formation, German fighters attacked. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft burst into flames and descend rapidly. It crashed two kilometers southwest of the town of Barby. Three crewmembers survived and were taken as prisoners of war. One airman who was killed was identified in May 1945. Brady, Chandler, Liekhus, Shoemaker and Younger were all declared missing in action. In January 1951, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) concluded that the five unaccounted-for crew members perished in the crash and the location of their remains was unknown.
Department of Defense historians and analysts, aided by German researchers and local government officials, located a potential crash site associated with their loss. Recovery operations were conducted from June to September 2015. Recovery teams found osseous remains, material evidence and aircraft wreckage.
DPAA returned to the crash site in April and May 2016, locating additional osseous remains, material evidence and aircraft wreckage, consolidating them with the evidence from the previous operations.
Three of the crew, Brady, Shoemaker and Younger, were able to be individually identified through mitochondrial DNA analysis, forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence. The remains that could not be individually identified represented the entire crew.
DPAA is grateful to the German government for their assistance 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 72,906 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Brady’s, Chandler’s, Liekhus’, Shoemaker’s and Younger’s names are recorded on the Walls of the Missing on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to each name to indicate they have been accounted for.
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
Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class John H. Schoonover
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 19, 2018
Funeral Announcement For USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed During World War II (Schoonover, J.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman from World War II have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class John H. Schoonover, 39, of Port Edwards, Wisconsin, accounted for on Aug. 14, 2017, will be buried June 26 in Pensacola, Florida. On Dec. 7, 1941, Schoonover 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 Schoonover.
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 Schoonover.
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 NMCP for analysis.
To identify Schoonover’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons and anthropological analysis.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,917 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Schoonover’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 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.
Pfc. David Baker
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 15, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During Korean War (Baker, David)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, recently accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Pfc. David Baker, 18, of Gary, Indiana, accounted for on January 31, will be buried June 23 in Hobart, Indiana. In late November 1950, Baker was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, positioned in the vicinity of Yongbyong, North Korea. Baker’s battalion moved north and lost contact with two other regiments. On Nov. 25, 1950, 3rd BN met with enemy resistance and was attacked by Chinese People’s Volunteer Force. The battalion suffered heavy casualties and Baker was declared missing in action as of Nov. 28, 1950, when he could not be accounted for by his unit. Later reports indicate that baker was likely captured by the enemy during battle.
Although the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hoped to recover American remains that remained north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone after the war, administrative details between the United Nations Command and North Korea complicated recovery efforts. An agreement was made and in September and October 1954, in what was known as Operation Glory, remains were returned. However, Baker’s remains were not included, and he was declared non-recoverable.
In December 1993, North Korea turned over 34 boxes of remains, which were sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu. One box was reportedly exhumed from Tongju-ri, a village near Prisoner of War Camp 5. While no returning prisoners of war reported Baker as a prisoner, where the remains were recovered indicated he had been captured.
To identify Baker’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,702 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. Baker’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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 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.
Staff Sgt. Leo J. Husak
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 15, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During World War II (Husak, L.)
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.
Army Staff Sgt. Leo J. Husak, 21, of West, Texas, accounted for on February 12, will be buried June 23 in his hometown. In January 1945, Husak was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 309th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division, serving in the European theater. Husak was killed during a combat patrol on Jan. 30, 1945 in Germany’s Hürtgen Forest. The offensive in the forest was one of the longest battles the United States fought during World War II, lasting for nearly five months.
Due to the ongoing fighting, Husak’s remains were not recovered by members of his unit during the battle. After the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) collected hundreds of unknown sets of remains from battlefields in Germany, and labeled each set with an X-number. One set of remains, designated X-1043 Margraten, had been recovered from an area in the Hürtgen Forest where Husak was believed to have been killed. The AGRC was unable to identify the remains and buried them at Margraten in June 1945 as an unknown.
In March 1947, personnel from the AGRC reprocessed the remains but were unable to associate the remains with any American service members. They were again reinterred in Margraten in July 1949.
In October 2016, DPAA researchers made a historical association between X-1043 Margraten and Husak, based on the recovery site of the remains and where he was killed. On June 13, 2017, the remains were disinterred and repatriated to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
To identify Husak’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission 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 72,917 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Husak’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing, the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium. Although interred as an “unknown,” Husak’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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.
Staff Sgt. Roy F. Davis
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 15, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Airman Killed During World War II (Davis, R.)
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.
Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy F. Davis, 26, of Peterborough, New Hampshire, accounted for on June 7, 2017, will be buried June 23 in Ashby, Massachusetts. On March 12, 1944, Davis was a member of the 13th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Group, as one of two crewmembers aboard an A-20G Havoc bomber that failed to return to base in northeastern New Guinea after attacking enemy targets on the island.
Attempts to locate the aircraft and crew, both during and after the war, were unsuccessful. The War Department declared Davis, as well the other crewmember, 2nd Lt. Vernal J. Bird, deceased on June 30, 1949; their remains were listed as non-recoverable.
In September 2001, a team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory (a predecessor to DPAA) located a crash site in a remote area of Papua New Guinea. A native Papuan turned over pieces of wreckage he claimed to have recovered from the crash site. The team also recovered possible remains. On July 15, 2013, the remains were identified as Bird’s.
In February and March 2016, a DPAA Recovery Team excavated the crash site, and recovered additional remains and material evidence. The remains were subsequently sent to the DPAA laboratory.
To identify Davis’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) analysis, which matched his family, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, 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 72,917 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Davis’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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.
Pfc. John W. Mac Donald
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 15, 2018
Funeral Announcement For Marine Killed During World War II (Mac Donald, J.)
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.
Marine Pfc. John W. Mac Donald, 19, of Somerville, Massachusetts, accounted for on Aug. 15, 2016, will be buried June 22 in Bourne, Massachusetts. In November 1943, Mac Donald was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 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. Mac Donald 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. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but Mac Donald’s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Mac Donald remains non-recoverable.
In June 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight, Inc., notified DPAA that they discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
To identify Mac Donald’s remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, including anthropological analysis and dental and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched Mac Donald’s records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to History Flight, Inc. 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 72,917 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Mac Donald’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 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.