Press Release | Sept. 23, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Drewes, N.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Norman H. Drewes, killed during World War II, was accounted for September 13, 2024.

In June 1944, Drewes was a member of Company D, 708th Amphibious Tank Battalion. He was killed June 15 during Operation Forager on the island of Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. Marines ashore on the island were under constant assault from Japanese mortars, which caused heavy casualties and impeded American’s movements. The exact cause of Drewes’s death is unknown, but it is believed his unit was providing armor support to the Marines’ initial landing on the beaches. Drewes’s remains were not known to have been accounted for during or after the war. The War Department declared him non-recoverable in June 1949.

Press Release | Sept. 23, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Ortiz, E.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Eriverto Ortiz, 27, of Batesville, Texas, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for August 10, 2023.

In Sept. 1950, Ortiz was a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in defensive actions west of Masan, near the port city of Pusan, South Korea, on Sept. 22. Due to intense fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. With no further information the Army declared Ortiz nonrecoverable in Jan. 1956.

In early 1951, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interred them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Pusan. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-32 Pusan, recovered in the vicinity of Kun’gong-ni, South Korea, near where Ortiz went missing. A tentative association was made between X-32 and Ortiz, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-32 was determined to be unidentifiable. The remains were sent to Hawaii where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In July 2018, DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. Unknown X-32 Pusan was disinterred as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

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

Ortiz’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Ortiz will be buried in Elgin, Illinois, on Oct. 28, 2024.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490

Press Release | Sept. 23, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Calvi, B.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. 1st Class Bernard J. Calvi, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for September 16, 2024.

In late 1941, Calvi was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit 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.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.  Calvi 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 #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account fo

Press Release | Sept. 19, 2024

Marine Accounted for from WWII (Edwinson, J.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. John E. Edwinson Jr., killed during World War II, was accounted for September 11, 2024.

In September 1942, Edwinson was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On Sept. 24, he was killed during a firefight with Japanese forces. His body could not be recovered at the time because of the fighting. A burial party was dispatched to the area of “Hill X” and “Hill Y” on Sept. 25 where they quickly buried the Marines who died during the fighting on Sept. 24, including Edwinson, in Grave D.

In late 1944 and early 1945, some of these remains were found and buried elsewhere, but there is no record of Edwinson being among those. American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) began searching Guadalcanal and nearby islands for missing service members in 1947. They made several searches through 1949, but were unable to find Edwinson. He was declared non-recoverable in Aug. 1950.

Press Release | Sept. 19, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Cash, J.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Jack M. Cash, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for August 26, 2024.

In September 1950, Cash was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in combat actions with the enemy along the Naktong River in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, on Sept. 1. Due to intense fighting in the area, his body could not be recovered at that time. The exact circumstances of his death were unknown, and the U.S. Army determined him to be nonrecoverable on Dec. 31, 1953.