Press Release | March 17, 2025

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (O’Donovan, J.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Maj. James J. O’Donovan, 34, of Cohoes, New York, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Feb. 4, 2024.

O’Donovan’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In late 1942, O’Donovan was a member of 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 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. O’Donovan 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.

According to prison camp and other historical records, O’Donovan died on Oct. 18, 1942, and was buried in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Grave 649.

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 1948, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. One set of remains was recovered from Grave 649 but could not be identified. They were declared unidentifiable on Feb. 27, 1952. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as an Unknown.

In 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Grave 649 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.           

To identify O’Donovan’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 analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, O’Donovan’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Today, O’Donovan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

O’Donovan will be buried in San Diego, California on a date yet to be determined.

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

Press Release | Feb. 27, 2025

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Barbiere, G.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. George M. Barbiere, 23, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Feb. 26, 2025.

In the winter of 1950, Barbiere was assigned to Service Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, after the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The U.S. Army did not receive any indication that he was held as a Prisoner of War and issued a presumptive finding of death for Barbiere on Dec. 31, 1953.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Barbiere’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.

Press Release | March 27, 2025

Airman Accounted For From WWII (Gibbs, C.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Gibbs, 21, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 24, 2025.

In late 1944, Gibbs was assigned to 368th Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 1st Bombardment Division, 8th Air Force. On December 29, Gibbs, a top turret gunner onboard a B-17G “Flying Fortress” went missing in action when his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire while on a bombing mission to Bingen, Germany. All crewmembers were able to bail out of the aircraft, and only one airman was found dead by German forces near the crash site. Five men were captured and processed into the German prisoner of war (POW) camp system, ultimately surviving the war. Gibbs and two other crewmembers were unaccounted for, and there was no record of them being held as POWs.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Gibbs’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.

Press Release | March 17, 2025

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Cherubini, R.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt Roman Cherubini, 22, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 16, 2024.

Cherubini’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

Cherubini was assigned to F Company, 2nd Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as “Merrill’s Marauders.” Cherubini joined the unit as part of “New Galahad” replacements sent to supplement the original group of 5307th troops (“Old Galahad”) in May 1944. After arriving at the recently captured airfield in Myitkyina, Burma, Cherubini’s battalion advanced south from the village of Mankrin on June 16 against heavily fortified Japanese positions north of Myitkyina. Although the exact circumstances of his death were not recorded, the U.S. War Department declared Cherubini Killed in Action on June 16, 1944.

The remains of servicemen killed during the battle were buried in at least eight different temporary cemeteries and numerous isolated burial locations. Eventually, all known burials were concentrated into the U.S. Military Cemetery at Myitkyina, including remains that could not be identified. In January and February 1946, all of the remains at the U.S. Military Cemetery at Myitkyina were disinterred and transferred to the U.S. Military Cemetery at Kalaikunda, India. The exhumation of the U.S. Military Cemetery at Kalaikunda was conducted in September and October 1947, with unidentified remains transferred to the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) on Oahu for further analysis.

Despite the efforts of CIL staff, one of these remains, designated X-65 Kalaikunda, could not be identified and was subsequently buried as a World War II Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu on Mar. 11, 1949.

In January 2022, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-65 Kalaikunda from the NMCP, also known as the Punchbowl, as part of the Battle of Myitkyina project and transferred the remains to the DPAA laboratory.

To identify Cherubini’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 analysis.

Cherubini’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City, Philippines, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Cherubini will be buried on a date yet to be determined.

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

Press Release | Feb. 28, 2025

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Murray, J.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. James H. Murray, 25, of Hollywood, California, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 23, 2024.

Murray’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In late 1941, Murray was a member of the 93rd Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment 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. Murray 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.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Murray died Nov. 22, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 816.

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. One of the sets of remains from Common Grave 816 were identified, while the remaining three were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 816 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. 

To identify Murray’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 and mitochondrial genome sequence analysis.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Murray’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Today, Murray is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Murray will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on a date yet to be determined.

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