USS Oklahoma Sailor From World War II Accounted For (Schmitt)
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 Lt. j.g. Aloysius H. Schmitt, 32, of St. Lucas, Iowa, will be buried Oct. 8 in Dubuque, Iowa. On Dec. 7, 1941, Schmitt was assigned to the 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 429 casualties, including Schmitt.
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 Schmitt.
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 Schmitt’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched a grandnephew; as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Schmitt’s records.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:37:212025-04-01 17:37:23Lt. j.g. Aloysius H. Schmitt
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Sgt. Fae V. Moore, 23, of Chadron, Nebraska, will be buried Oct. 6 in his hometown. In November 1943, Moore was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 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. Moore died sometime on the first day of battle, Nov. 20, 1943.
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 Moore’s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Moore’s 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 Moore’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched a nephew; laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and anthropological comparison, which matched Moore’s records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc. and their partnership for this recovery mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:36:482025-04-01 17:36:49Sgt. Fae V. Moore
Airman Missing From World War II Accounted For (Ward)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Robert W. Ward, 22, of Pontiac, Michigan, will be buried Oct. 1 in his hometown. On Dec. 23, 1944, Ward was assigned to the 559th Bombardment Squadron, 387th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. Ward was the co-pilot of a B-26C Marauder, with eight other crew members, that crashed after being struck by enemy fire while on a bombing mission against enemy forces near Philippsweiler, Germany. Ward and one other of the nine-member crew were reported killed in action. The other seven crewmen survived the crash by parachuting to safety; however, one crewman was captured by enemy forces and was reported to have died in captivity. His remains were later returned to U.S. custody. Ward and the other crewman killed in action were not recovered during the war.
In April 2009, a Department of Defense (DoD) team traveled to Philippsweiler to interview several Germans who recalled an American war-time crash. The team surveyed the possible crash site. Between June 2010 and July 2011, two DoD recovery teams excavated the suspected crash site, recovering human remains and aircraft wreckage.
To identify Ward’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools to include mitochondrial DNA, which matched his nieces.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:35:362025-04-01 17:35:372nd Lt. Robert W. Ward
Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Brown)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Master Sgt. Charles J. Brown, Jr., 20, of Ozone Park, New York, will be buried Sept. 26 in Sarasota, Florida. In early November 1950, Brown was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, when the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) attacked the regiment and forced the unit to withdraw to the village of Ipsok, approximately five miles south of Unsan. The survivors attempted to set up a defensive perimeter, but many soldiers became surrounded and attempted to escape and evade the enemy, but the majority were captured and marched to POW camps.
Brown’s name did not appear on any POW list provided by the CPVF or the Korean People’s Army, nor did any repatriated American POWs have any information about Brown. Based on this information, a military review board amended his status to deceased in 1953.
Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which when combined with remains recovered during joint recovery operations in North Korea between 1996 and 2005, included the remains of at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents included in the repatriation indicated that some of the remains were recovered from the vicinity where Brown was believed to have died.
To identify Brown’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial, Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched his sister, as well as dental and anthropological analyses, and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,795 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.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:34:092025-04-01 17:34:11Master Sgt. Charles J. Brown
Marine Missing From World War II Accounted For (Kines)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Pvt. Emmett L. Kines, 24, of Grafton, West Virginia, will be buried Sept. 19, in his hometown. In November 1943, Kines was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 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. Kines died sometime during 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, but Kines’ remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Kines’ 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 Kines’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched a sister, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Kines’ records.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc. and their partnership for this recovery mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:32:462025-04-01 17:32:48Pvt. Emmett L. Kines
Marine Missing From World War II Accounted For (Penna)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Pvt. Frank F. Penna, 24, of Canastota, New York, will be buried Sept. 17 in his hometown. In November 1943, Penna was assigned to Company E, 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. Penna died sometime on the first day of battle, Nov. 20, 1943.
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 Penna’s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Penna’s 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 Penna’s remains, scientists from DPAA used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched a brother, laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and chest radiographic comparison, which matched Penna’s records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc. and their partnership for this recovery mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:31:292025-04-01 17:31:31Pvt. Frank F. Penna
Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Dunn)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Larry M. Dunn, 18, of Cullman, Alabama, will be buried Sept. 17 in Cullman, Alabama. On Dec. 1, 1950, Dunn was a member of Company B, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, when his unit was fighting through a roadblock that was heavily defended by enemy forces near Sonchu, North Korea. Dunn went missing in action as a result of the battle.
Dunn never appeared on any list of the captured released by North Korea or the Chinese Communist Forces, nor did any repatriated Americans report that he was a fellow prisoner in any internment camp in North Korea. Because of the lack of information, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953.
In 1954, United Nations and communist forces exchanged the remains of war dead in what came to be called “Operation Glory.” All remains recovered in Operation Glory were turned over to the Army’s Central Identification Unit for analysis. The remains they were unable to identify were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, known as the “Punchbowl.”
In 1999, due to advances in technology, the Department of Defense began to re-examine records and concluded that the possibility for identification of some of these unknowns now existed. The remains designated X-14754 were exhumed on Aug. 20, 2015, so further analysis could be conducted.
To identify Dunn’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used anthropological, dental and chest radiograph comparison analysis; which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Today, 7,801 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using advances in technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered by American teams.
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 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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:30:152025-04-01 17:30:17Cpl. Larry M. Dunn,
Airman Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For (Klenda)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Air Force Maj. Dean A. Klenda, 25, of Marion, Kansas, will be buried Sept. 17 in Pilsen, Kansas. On Sept. 17, 1965, Klenda was assigned to the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron as the pilot of an F-105D Thunderchief that was attacking enemy targets in Son La Province, Vietnam. During Klenda’s mission, his aircraft was struck by enemy fire causing him to eject from the Thunderchief. He failed to separate from his ejection seat before it impacted the ground. Klenda was reported as missing in action; however, a military review board later amended his status to dead, body not recovered.
Between 1993 and 1999, multiple joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams conducted investigations of the crash site. The teams identified the site that was believed to be where Klenda’s ejection seat impacted the ground. No remains were recovered at the time of the investigations.
On Nov. 10, 2011, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team re-investigated the loss in Son La Province and interviewed a Vietnamese national who claimed that in 1996 he found remains at the site where the ejection seat was believed to have impacted. The Vietnamese man told the team that he discarded the remains in an agricultural field five kilometers away from the crash site.
From Nov. 4 to Nov. 29, 2014, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the site where the Vietnamese national claimed to have discarded the remains. The recovery team located and recovered human remains.
In the identification of Klenda, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and dental comparisons, including isotopic analysis, which matched his records.
The support from the government of Vietnam was vital to the success of this recovery.
Today there are 1,618 American servicemen and civilians that are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:29:072025-04-01 17:29:08Maj. Dean A. Klenda
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Frederick G. Collins, Jr., 23, of San Francisco, will be buried Sept. 15, 2017 in Riverside, California. On Dec. 8, 1941, Collins was assigned to the 263rd Quartermaster Company, Quartermaster Corps (QMC), located at Nichols Field, in Manila, Philippines, when hostile Japanese forces sent the QMC on a gradual withdrawal into Bataan Province. Following the April 9, 1942 surrender to the Japanese, Collins and other members of the QMC captured in Bataan began the torturous 65-mile “Bataan Death March” northward, where they were imprisoned at Camp O’Donnell. Because of overcrowding and an excessive death rate at Camp O’Donnell, Collins and other POWs were transferred to Camp Cabanatuan. More than 2,800 POWs perished in Camp Cabanatuan during the remaining years of the war. On Nov. 19, 1942, 14 Americans, including Collins, were reported to have died and were buried by their fellow prisoners in Common Grave 717 in Cabanatuan Camp #3 Cemetery.
Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military cemetery near Manila. In late 1947, the AGRS again exhumed the remains at the Manila cemetery in an attempt to identify them. Due to the circumstances of the POW deaths and burials, the extensive commingling, and the limited identification technologies of the time, all of the remains could not be individually identified. The unidentified remains were reburied as unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, a permanent American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in the Philippines.
In 2014, the Secretary of the Army granted permission to exhume the ten graves associated with Cabanatuan Common Grave 717, where Collins was believed to have been buried. The remains were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory on Aug. 28, 2014.
To identify Collins’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools, including mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat DNA analysis, which matched the DNA samples provided by two cousins and a half-brother; anthropological analysis; as well as historical and circumstantial evidence.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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 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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:28:322025-04-01 17:28:34Cpl. Frederick G. Collins, Jr.
Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Wells)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Curtis J. Wells, 19, of Ubly, Michigan, will be buried Sept. 10 in Harbor Beach, Michigan. In late November 1950, while Wells was assigned to Company C, 65th Engineer Combat Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, his company joined with Task Force (TF) Wilson to fight the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in the vicinity of Unsan, North Korea. The TF was overwhelmed by a large force of CPVF soldiers, and by Nov. 27, 1950, they began to extricate themselves south and Company C returned to the control of the battalion. As the battalion attempted to account for its casualties, Wells was reported missing in action.
Wells’ name did not appear on any POW list provided by the CPVF or the Korean People’s Army, nor did any repatriated American POWs have any information about Wells.
In late 1953, as part of a prisoner of war exchange, known as “Operation Big Switch,” no repatriated Americans had any knowledge of Wells’ whereabouts. As a result of this, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of March 18, 1954.
In October 1998, during a Joint Recovery Operation, a U.S./North Korean recovery team excavated a site in Kujang County, North P’yongan-Pukto Province, North Korea, based on information provided by witnesses concerning buried American soldiers. This site correlated with the area of the battle between TF Wilson and the CPVF.
To identify Wells’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, DNA analysis, including mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat and autosomal DNA, which matched two brothers, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched Wells’ records.
Today, 7,802 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using advances in technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered by American teams.
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.jpgadmin2025-04-01 17:28:012025-04-01 17:28:03Cpl. Curtis J. Wells
Lt. j.g. Aloysius H. Schmitt
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 30, 2016
USS Oklahoma Sailor From World War II Accounted For (Schmitt)
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 Lt. j.g. Aloysius H. Schmitt, 32, of St. Lucas, Iowa, will be buried Oct. 8 in Dubuque, Iowa. On Dec. 7, 1941, Schmitt was assigned to the 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 429 casualties, including Schmitt.
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 Schmitt.
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 Schmitt’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched a grandnephew; as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Schmitt’s records.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.
Sgt. Fae V. Moore
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 29, 2016
Marine From World War II Accounted For (Moore)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Sgt. Fae V. Moore, 23, of Chadron, Nebraska, will be buried Oct. 6 in his hometown. In November 1943, Moore was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 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. Moore died sometime on the first day of battle, Nov. 20, 1943.
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 Moore’s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Moore’s 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 Moore’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched a nephew; laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and anthropological comparison, which matched Moore’s records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc. and their partnership for this recovery mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.
2nd Lt. Robert W. Ward
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 23, 2016
Airman Missing From World War II Accounted For (Ward)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Robert W. Ward, 22, of Pontiac, Michigan, will be buried Oct. 1 in his hometown. On Dec. 23, 1944, Ward was assigned to the 559th Bombardment Squadron, 387th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. Ward was the co-pilot of a B-26C Marauder, with eight other crew members, that crashed after being struck by enemy fire while on a bombing mission against enemy forces near Philippsweiler, Germany. Ward and one other of the nine-member crew were reported killed in action. The other seven crewmen survived the crash by parachuting to safety; however, one crewman was captured by enemy forces and was reported to have died in captivity. His remains were later returned to U.S. custody. Ward and the other crewman killed in action were not recovered during the war.
In April 2009, a Department of Defense (DoD) team traveled to Philippsweiler to interview several Germans who recalled an American war-time crash. The team surveyed the possible crash site. Between June 2010 and July 2011, two DoD recovery teams excavated the suspected crash site, recovering human remains and aircraft wreckage.
To identify Ward’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools to include mitochondrial DNA, which matched his nieces.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict.
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.
Master Sgt. Charles J. Brown
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 19, 2016
Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Brown)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Master Sgt. Charles J. Brown, Jr., 20, of Ozone Park, New York, will be buried Sept. 26 in Sarasota, Florida. In early November 1950, Brown was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, when the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) attacked the regiment and forced the unit to withdraw to the village of Ipsok, approximately five miles south of Unsan. The survivors attempted to set up a defensive perimeter, but many soldiers became surrounded and attempted to escape and evade the enemy, but the majority were captured and marched to POW camps.
Brown’s name did not appear on any POW list provided by the CPVF or the Korean People’s Army, nor did any repatriated American POWs have any information about Brown. Based on this information, a military review board amended his status to deceased in 1953.
Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which when combined with remains recovered during joint recovery operations in North Korea between 1996 and 2005, included the remains of at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents included in the repatriation indicated that some of the remains were recovered from the vicinity where Brown was believed to have died.
To identify Brown’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial, Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched his sister, as well as dental and anthropological analyses, and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,795 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.
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.
Pvt. Emmett L. Kines
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 12, 2016
Marine Missing From World War II Accounted For (Kines)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Pvt. Emmett L. Kines, 24, of Grafton, West Virginia, will be buried Sept. 19, in his hometown. In November 1943, Kines was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 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. Kines died sometime during 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, but Kines’ remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Kines’ 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 Kines’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched a sister, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Kines’ records.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc. and their partnership for this recovery mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.
Pvt. Frank F. Penna
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 9, 2016
Marine Missing From World War II Accounted For (Penna)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Pvt. Frank F. Penna, 24, of Canastota, New York, will be buried Sept. 17 in his hometown. In November 1943, Penna was assigned to Company E, 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. Penna died sometime on the first day of battle, Nov. 20, 1943.
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 Penna’s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Penna’s 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 Penna’s remains, scientists from DPAA used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched a brother, laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and chest radiographic comparison, which matched Penna’s records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is appreciative to History Flight, Inc. and their partnership for this recovery mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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.
Cpl. Larry M. Dunn,
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 9, 2016
Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Dunn)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Larry M. Dunn, 18, of Cullman, Alabama, will be buried Sept. 17 in Cullman, Alabama. On Dec. 1, 1950, Dunn was a member of Company B, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, when his unit was fighting through a roadblock that was heavily defended by enemy forces near Sonchu, North Korea. Dunn went missing in action as a result of the battle.
Dunn never appeared on any list of the captured released by North Korea or the Chinese Communist Forces, nor did any repatriated Americans report that he was a fellow prisoner in any internment camp in North Korea. Because of the lack of information, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953.
In 1954, United Nations and communist forces exchanged the remains of war dead in what came to be called “Operation Glory.” All remains recovered in Operation Glory were turned over to the Army’s Central Identification Unit for analysis. The remains they were unable to identify were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, known as the “Punchbowl.”
In 1999, due to advances in technology, the Department of Defense began to re-examine records and concluded that the possibility for identification of some of these unknowns now existed. The remains designated X-14754 were exhumed on Aug. 20, 2015, so further analysis could be conducted.
To identify Dunn’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used anthropological, dental and chest radiograph comparison analysis; which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Today, 7,801 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using advances in technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered by American teams.
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 or call (703) 699-1420.
Maj. Dean A. Klenda
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 9, 2016
Airman Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For (Klenda)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Air Force Maj. Dean A. Klenda, 25, of Marion, Kansas, will be buried Sept. 17 in Pilsen, Kansas. On Sept. 17, 1965, Klenda was assigned to the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron as the pilot of an F-105D Thunderchief that was attacking enemy targets in Son La Province, Vietnam. During Klenda’s mission, his aircraft was struck by enemy fire causing him to eject from the Thunderchief. He failed to separate from his ejection seat before it impacted the ground. Klenda was reported as missing in action; however, a military review board later amended his status to dead, body not recovered.
Between 1993 and 1999, multiple joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams conducted investigations of the crash site. The teams identified the site that was believed to be where Klenda’s ejection seat impacted the ground. No remains were recovered at the time of the investigations.
On Nov. 10, 2011, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team re-investigated the loss in Son La Province and interviewed a Vietnamese national who claimed that in 1996 he found remains at the site where the ejection seat was believed to have impacted. The Vietnamese man told the team that he discarded the remains in an agricultural field five kilometers away from the crash site.
From Nov. 4 to Nov. 29, 2014, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the site where the Vietnamese national claimed to have discarded the remains. The recovery team located and recovered human remains.
In the identification of Klenda, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and dental comparisons, including isotopic analysis, which matched his records.
The support from the government of Vietnam was vital to the success of this recovery.
Today there are 1,618 American servicemen and civilians that are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
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.
Cpl. Frederick G. Collins, Jr.
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 7, 2016
Soldier From WWII Accounted For (Collins, F.)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, unaccounted for from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Frederick G. Collins, Jr., 23, of San Francisco, will be buried Sept. 15, 2017 in Riverside, California. On Dec. 8, 1941, Collins was assigned to the 263rd Quartermaster Company, Quartermaster Corps (QMC), located at Nichols Field, in Manila, Philippines, when hostile Japanese forces sent the QMC on a gradual withdrawal into Bataan Province. Following the April 9, 1942 surrender to the Japanese, Collins and other members of the QMC captured in Bataan began the torturous 65-mile “Bataan Death March” northward, where they were imprisoned at Camp O’Donnell. Because of overcrowding and an excessive death rate at Camp O’Donnell, Collins and other POWs were transferred to Camp Cabanatuan. More than 2,800 POWs perished in Camp Cabanatuan during the remaining years of the war. On Nov. 19, 1942, 14 Americans, including Collins, were reported to have died and were buried by their fellow prisoners in Common Grave 717 in Cabanatuan Camp #3 Cemetery.
Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military cemetery near Manila. In late 1947, the AGRS again exhumed the remains at the Manila cemetery in an attempt to identify them. Due to the circumstances of the POW deaths and burials, the extensive commingling, and the limited identification technologies of the time, all of the remains could not be individually identified. The unidentified remains were reburied as unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, a permanent American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in the Philippines.
In 2014, the Secretary of the Army granted permission to exhume the ten graves associated with Cabanatuan Common Grave 717, where Collins was believed to have been buried. The remains were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory on Aug. 28, 2014.
To identify Collins’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools, including mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat DNA analysis, which matched the DNA samples provided by two cousins and a half-brother; anthropological analysis; as well as historical and circumstantial evidence.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
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 or call (703) 699-1420.
Cpl. Curtis J. Wells
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Sept. 1, 2016
Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Wells)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Curtis J. Wells, 19, of Ubly, Michigan, will be buried Sept. 10 in Harbor Beach, Michigan. In late November 1950, while Wells was assigned to Company C, 65th Engineer Combat Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, his company joined with Task Force (TF) Wilson to fight the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in the vicinity of Unsan, North Korea. The TF was overwhelmed by a large force of CPVF soldiers, and by Nov. 27, 1950, they began to extricate themselves south and Company C returned to the control of the battalion. As the battalion attempted to account for its casualties, Wells was reported missing in action.
Wells’ name did not appear on any POW list provided by the CPVF or the Korean People’s Army, nor did any repatriated American POWs have any information about Wells.
In late 1953, as part of a prisoner of war exchange, known as “Operation Big Switch,” no repatriated Americans had any knowledge of Wells’ whereabouts. As a result of this, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of March 18, 1954.
In October 1998, during a Joint Recovery Operation, a U.S./North Korean recovery team excavated a site in Kujang County, North P’yongan-Pukto Province, North Korea, based on information provided by witnesses concerning buried American soldiers. This site correlated with the area of the battle between TF Wilson and the CPVF.
To identify Wells’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, DNA analysis, including mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat and autosomal DNA, which matched two brothers, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched Wells’ records.
Today, 7,802 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using advances in technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered by American teams.
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.