Press Release | May 12, 2016

USS Oklahoma Sailor From World War II Accounted For (Hoard)

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 Chief Storekeeper Herbert J. Hoard, 36, of DeSoto, Missouri, will be buried May 21 in his hometown. On Dec. 7, 1941, Hoard 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 Hoard.

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 Hoard.

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.

Bone samples were submitted for DNA testing to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Tests included mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which traces the maternal line; Y chromosome DNA, which traces the paternal line; and autosomal DNA, which is individual specific.

To identify Hoard’s remains, scientists from DPAA and AFDIL used mtDNA, which matched a cousin; as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Hoard’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 or call (703) 699-1420.

Press Release | May 10, 2016

Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Williams)

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 Sgt. Billy J. Williams, 20, of Madisonville, Texas, will be buried May 17 in Madison County, Texas. On Feb. 14, 1951, Williams was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Infantry Division, when his company was attacked by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces in the vicinity of Chuam-ni, North Korea. He was declared missing in action after the battle.

In 1953, during a prisoner of war exchange historically known as “Operation Big Switch,” a repatriated American service member stated that Williams died in April 1951, while in custody at a prisoner of war camp in Suan, North Korea. 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 an associated with the Suan Bean POW Camp, where Williams was reported to have died.

To identify Williams’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence; DNA analysis, including mitochondrial DNA, which matched a maternal aunt and cousin; as well as dental and chest radiograph comparisons, which matched Williams’ records.

Today, 7,819 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.

Press Release | April 27, 2016

Airman Missing From World War II Accounted For (Farron)

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 are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Leonard R. Farron, 23, of Tacoma, Washington, will be buried May 4 in his hometown. On Oct. 15, 1942, Farron was the pilot of a P-39 aircraft with the 67th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group, 13th Air Force, when he failed to return from a strafing mission over Tassafaronga, Guadalcanal. His squadron mates reported they last saw Farron 10 minutes before landing, but there was heavy anti-aircraft fire and enemy fighters swarming the area at the time. No one reported seeing Farron crash.

On Dec. 30, 1942, a soldier from the 25th Infantry Division (ID) located a crashed P-39 with a tail number closely matching Farron’s plane, and with the body of the pilot still in the cockpit. However, the remains of that pilot were not recovered at that time. On Jan. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Farron non-recoverable.

In January and February 2013, an investigation team with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) searched on Guadalcanal for information relating to Farron’s crash, but no wreckage consistent with a P-39 was found.

In July 2013, a JPAC historian located relevant information regarding Farron’s P-39 crash while researching Guadalcanal ground losses associated with the 25th ID. Based on that information, another JPAC investigation team traveled to Guadalcanal, interviewed local citizens, and located an aircraft crash site with wreckage consistent with a P-39 in an area matching the 25th ID record.

From January to February 2015, a DPAA recovery team excavated the crash site and recovered wreckage, human remains and personal military gear.

To identify Farron’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched two maternal cousins, and dental analysis, which matched his 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 or call (703) 699-1420.

Press Release | April 7, 2016

Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Buckley)

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. Dennis D. Buckley, 24, of Detroit, will be buried April 14 in Rittman, Ohio. On Feb. 5, 1951, Buckley was assigned to A Battery, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, which was supporting the South Korean Army attacks against units of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in the area known as the Central Corridor in South Korea. The CPVF launched a counterattack, overwhelming neighboring units and leaving the 15th Field Artillery Battalion behind enemy lines. As the unit conducted a fighting withdrawal south toward Wonju, Buckley went missing near Hoengsong and was reported missing on February 13.

Buckley’s remains were not located after the CPVF units withdrew north in March 1951, nor by the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service during organized searches in 1953. Additionally, his name never appeared on any list of Americans who were in custody of the North Koreans or the CPVF.

However, a repatriated American prisoner of war provided information that Buckley was captured by the CPVF and died in their custody at the Suan POW camp. Based on this information, the U.S. Army declared Buckley dead on June 30, 1951.

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, account for 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 area where Buckley was believed to have died.

To identify Buckley’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used dental comparison analysis, which matched his records; mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat DNA analysis, which matched a brother and a sister; anthropological analysis; as well as circumstantial evidence.

Today, 7,819 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.

Press Release | April 5, 2016

Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Vaughn)

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 Pfc. Aubrey D. Vaughn, 20, of Union, South Carolina, will be buried April 12 in his hometown. On April 23, 1951, Vaughn was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 5th Regimental Combat Team, when his company’s position was overrun by the Chinese Communist Forces near Undamjang, North Korea. After the battle, Vaughn was reported missing in action.

Repatriated American prisoners of war reported that Vaughn died while in captivity at POW Camp 1 in 1951. The U.S. Army subsequently declared Vaughn deceased on July 7, 1951.

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-14176 were exhumed on May 18, 2015 so further analysis could be conducted.

In the identification of Vaughn’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence, as well as dental and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched Vaughn’s records.

Today, 7,819 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 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 or call (703) 699-1420.