Private 1st Class Harry M. Seiff

Press Release | Aug. 9, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Seiff, H.)

Washington –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Private 1st Class Harry M. Seiff, 23, of Venice, California, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for December 18, 2023.

In summer 1942, Seiff was a member of the 20th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Forces, 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. Seiff 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. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Seiff died November 14, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 723.

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 mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Several sets of remains from Common Grave 723 were identified, but the remaining others were declared unidentifiable, including those of Pfc. Seiff. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In June 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 723 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Seiff’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).

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Seiff’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

Seiff will be buried on a date and location to be determined.

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

Staff Sgt. Alvin R. Scarborough

Recently Identified

Press Release | Aug. 9, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Scarborough, A.)

Washington –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Alvin R. Scarborough, 22, of Dossville, Mississippi, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 21, 2023.

In late 1942, Scarborough was a member of 454th Ordnance Company (Aviation), 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. Scarborough 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. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Scarborough died July 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 215.

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 mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Five sets of remains from Common Grave 215 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In early 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 215 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

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

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Scarborough’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

Scarborough will be buried in Carthage, Mississippi, on a date to be determined.

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

Master Sgt. David P. Sluder

Recently Identified

Press Release | Aug. 2, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Sluder, D.)

Washington –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Master Sgt. David P. Sluder, 33, of Minneapolis, North Carolina, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Sep. 27, 2023.

In July 1950, Sluder was a member of Battery B, 63rd Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division during the Korean War. He went missing in action after his unit was attacked by enemy ground forces in the vicinity of Samgyo-ri along the Kum River, South Korea, on July 14. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.

After regaining control of Taejon in the fall of 1950, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Taejon. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-1422. A tentative association was made between X-1422 and Sluder, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-1422 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, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. In Oct 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1422 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.

To identify Sluder’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.

Sluder’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.

Sluder will be buried in Mountain Home, Tennessee, on Sept. 29, 2024.

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

Technician Fifth Grade Harold D. Pittis

Recently Identified

Press Release | Aug. 1, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Pittis, H.)

Washington –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade (Tech5) Harold D. Pittis, 21, of Freeport, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 20, 2024.

In February 1945, Pittis was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division. His regiment was engaged in fierce fighting near the town of Biesdorf, Germany, when he was reported killed in action by small arms fire on Feb. 8. His body was unable to be recovered due to intense fighting against heavily reinforced German forces on an elevated position. Despite various recovery attempts, Pittis’s remains were not accounted for during or after the war.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. In 1951, remains were recovered from a wooded area southeast of Biesdorf. Remnants of military clothing, an American helmet and ammunition were found, but no identification tags or personal effects were located. The remains were designated X-8517 Neuville and interred at the U.S. Military Cemetery at Tunisia, known today as the North Africa American Cemetery.

In September 2022, Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) personnel exhumed X-8517 Neuville for forensic analysis and comparison with unresolved soldiers known to have been lost in the Biesdorf area. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Pittis’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and Autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Pittis’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Luxembourg American Cemetery, an ABMC site in Hamm, Luxembourg, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Pittis will be buried in Freeport, Ohio, on a date to be determined.

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

Cpl. Robert P. Raess

Recently Identified

Press Release | July 30, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Raess, R.)

Washington –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Robert P. Raess, 21, of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, reported missing in action during the Korean War, was accounted for March 26, 2024.

In late 1950, Raess was a member of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Sept. 1, 1950, near Changnyeong, South Korea. The Army officially declared Raess deceased on Dec. 31, 1953, and declared his remains non-recoverable Jan. 16, 1956.

In Jan. 1951, the American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRSG) consolidated the remains from 12 smaller military cemeteries at the newly established United Nations Military Cemetery in Tanggok, South Korea, including one set of remains designated X-1578 Tanggok, which had been recovered from the area where Raess was last seen. In 1956, the remains, including X-1578 Tanggok, were unable to be identified, and then transported to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu where they were buried as Unknowns.

In July 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) approved a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the NMPC across various phases. On April 19, 2021, the remains of X-1578 Tanggok were disinterred and sent to the DPAA Laboratory as part of Phase 3.

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

Washington –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force 2nd Lt. John H. Harris, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 20, 2024.

In spring 1944, Harris was assigned to the 732nd Bombardment Squadron, 453rd Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On April 8, Harris, the bombardier onboard a B-24H “Liberator” Little Joe, was killed in action when his plane was shot down by enemy fighter aircraft fire while on a bombing mission to Brunswick, Germany. Airmen aboard other aircraft flying in formation with Little Joe did not report seeing any crewmembers exiting the aircraft before it crashed in the vicinity of Salzwedel. The crash site could not be located by Allied forces during the war, and the remains of all nine crewmembers, including Harris, were unaccounted for following the war.