Solider Accounted for from Korean War (Simmons, W.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Master Sgt. Wallace Simmons Jr., killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 20, 2024.
In late 1950, Simmons was a member of Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 6, 1950, after his unit was engaged with enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. The exact circumstances of his loss are not historically available, and there was never a record he was held captive as a POW.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:25:072025-04-04 19:25:08Master Sgt. Wallace Simmons Jr.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta, 21, of Los Angeles, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023.
In early 1944, Banta was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Feb 24, Banta, an engineer onboard a B-24J “Liberator”, was killed in action when his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. One of the surviving crewmembers reported seeing the plane on fire and in a steep dive, before eventually exploding on the ground. While two crewmembers survived, the others, including Banta, were killed in the incident. German forces garrisoned in the area documented the crash site north of Leimbach Bahnhof, near Bad Salzungen, Germany. After the crash, German troops recovered the remains of the ball turret gunner and buried them in a local cemetery. The other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for following the war.
In March 1952, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, took custody of comingled unidentified remains recovered from Bad Salzungen Cemetery. These remains, X-9093 Griesheim Mausoleum (X-9093), X-9094 Griesheim Mausoleum (X-9094), and X-9095 Griesheim Mausoleum (X-9095), were believed to be those belonging to Banta’s downed aircraft. At the time, identification of these remains was not possible, and they were interred in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium.
In June 2021, DPAA historians and American Battle Monuments Commission personnel, exhumed X-9093, X-9094, and X-9095 from Ardennes American Cemetery and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis and identification.
To identify Banta’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
TSgt. Banta’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Hombourg, Belgium, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
TSgt. Banta will be buried in Riverside National Cemetery, California, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:24:202025-04-04 19:24:21Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Jeremiah P. Mahoney, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 6, 2024.
In January 1945, Mahoney was assigned to Anti-Tank Company, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in the European Theater during World War II. Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve 1944, German forces launched a major offensive operation in the Vosges Mountains in Alsace-Lorraine, France, known as Operation NORDWIND. The German attack surged through Allied defenses along the Franco-German border, and the ensuing battle enveloped two U.S. Corps along a 40-mile-wide front. In the following few weeks, Anti-Tank Company found itself assigned to resupply and reinforce Allied forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller. At some point on Jan. 17, Pvt. Mahoney was killed, but due to the intensity of the fighting his body was unable to be recovered while Anti-Tank Company was forced to withdraw from the area. With no record of German forces capturing Mahoney, and no remains recovered, the War Department issued a “Finding of Death” in January 1946.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:23:402025-04-04 19:23:42Pvt. Jeremiah P. Mahoney
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Joseph C. Murphy, 20, of Bogalusa, Louisiana, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Apr. 1, 2024.
In late 1942, Murphy was a member of Company I, 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. Murphy 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, Murphy died Oct. 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 713.
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. Two of the sets of remains from Common Grave 713 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In April 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 713 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Murphy’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.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Murphy’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Today, Pfc. Murphy 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.
Pfc. Murphy will be buried in Bogalusa, Louisiana, on Aug. 3, 2024.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:23:112025-04-04 19:23:12Pfc. Joseph C. Murphy
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Carroll, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Navy Fireman Second Class (F2c) Joseph W. Carroll, 20, of Caddo, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Aug. 19, 2019.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Carroll was assigned to the battleship 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 the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Carroll.
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 on Oahu.
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 dentifications 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 F2c Carroll.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Carroll’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
F2c Carroll’s name is recorded in the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
F2c Carroll will be buried on Aug. 24, 2024, in the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the US Navy Casualty office at (901) 874-2438.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:22:392025-04-04 19:22:40Fireman Second Class Joseph W. Carroll
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private Jacob Gutterman, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Mar. 26, 2024.
In summer 1942, Gutterman was a member of the 803rd Engineer Battalion, 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. Gutterman 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.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:21:582025-04-04 19:21:59Private Jacob Gutterman
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Corporal William Colby, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for May 2, 2024.
In late 1950, Colby was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:21:262025-04-04 19:21:28Corporal William Colby
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private 1st Class Lemuel Dent Jr., 30, of Ironsides, Maryland, missing in action during World War II, was accounted for February 2, 2024.
In February 1945, Dent was assigned to the Company L, 3rd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division “Buffalo Soldiers” in the European Theater. On Feb. 8, Dent was killed near the Cinquale Canal, north of Viareggio, Italy. Pfc. Dent was on board a tank that was crossing the canal, when it was struck by enemy mortar, machine gun, and artillery fire. His body was not recovered, and the Germans never reported him a prisoner of war.
Following the war on May 5, 1945, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. AGRC investigators recovered a set of remains, designated as X-124 Castelfiorentino, from a single gravesite approximately 2 miles west of Pietrasanta and 500 yards north of the Cinquale Canal. The investigators initially associated the remains as possibly belonging to a soldier of the 92nd Infantry Division, but didn’t have enough identifying data to make a positive identification. The remains were permanently interred at what is now Florence American Cemetery.
In June 2022, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains of X-124 from Florence American Cemetery for forensic analysis. Historians at the DPAA have determined that the X-124 remains most likely belonged to a member of 3rd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, killed in the vicinity of the Cinquale Canal in December 1944 or February 1945. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Dent’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Pfc. Dent’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Pfc. Dent will be buried in Cheltenham, Maryland on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:20:522025-04-04 19:20:53Private 1st Class Lemuel Dent Jr.
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Thompson, G.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class (S2c) George A. Thompson, 20, of Omaha, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Oct. 29, 2018.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Thompson was assigned to the battleship 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 the deaths of 429 crewmen, including S2c Thompson.
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 (CIL) at Schofield Barracks. In their analysis, CIL personnel could only identify 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 graves 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 S2c Thompson.
In 2003, renewed efforts to identify the Unknowns of the USS Oklahoma began with the exhumation of one of the 46 graves. In 2015, DPAA received the approval to exhume the rest of the Oklahoma Unknowns from the NMCP, which were accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for identification.
To identify Thompson’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
S2c Thompson’s name is recorded in the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
S2c Thompson will be buried on July 15, 2024, in the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the US Navy Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:20:082025-04-04 19:20:09Seaman 2nd Class George A. Thompson
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Edward K. Pyle, 31, of Alliance, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Mar. 14, 2024.
In December 1943, Pyle was a member of the 436th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group during World War II. On Dec. 1, he was serving as a gunner onboard a B-24J Liberator bomber while on a bombing mission from Panagarh, India, to the Insein Railroad Yard north of Rangoon, Burma. After reaching the designated target, Pyle’s plane was reportedly hit by anti-aircraft fire, causing the left wing to burst into flames. Witnesses from another aircraft noted seeing Pyle’s aircraft enter a steep dive while disappearing below the clouds. It was noted that 3 enemy aircraft were also seen following the crippled plane into the clouds, and no further contact was made with the Liberator. The remains of the crew were not recovered or identified after the war, and they were all later declared Missing In Action.
In 1947 the American Grave Registration Service (AGRS) recovered the remains of what they believed to be eight individuals involved in a potential B-24 Liberator crash near Yodayadet, Burma. According to local witnesses, there were no survivors from this aviation loss and Japanese forces had instructed local villagers to bury the remains in two large graves. The AGRS designated the remains recovered from these graves as Unknowns X-505A, X-505B, X-505C, X-505D, X-505E, X-505F, X-505G, and X-505H Barrackpore (X-505A-H). The remains could not be scientifically identified at the time and were interred as Unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), Honolulu, Hawaii, also known as the Punchbowl.
In early 2019, DPAA received a family disinterment request for Unknown X-505A-H based on past attempts to associate the remains with other unresolved losses from southern Burma. This led DPAA historians to review the other associated X files from the crash. The Department of Defense approved the disinterment request, and in October, 2020, DPAA personnel exhumed the remains X-505 A thru H from NMCP where they were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Pyle’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
SSgt. Pyle’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
SSgt. Pyle will be buried in Augusta, Michigan, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, call the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
https://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpg00adminhttps://pow-mia-kia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo-300x200.jpgadmin2025-04-04 19:19:292025-04-04 19:19:31Staff Sgt. Edward K. Pyle
Master Sgt. Wallace Simmons Jr.
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | July 2, 2024
Solider Accounted for from Korean War (Simmons, W.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Master Sgt. Wallace Simmons Jr., killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 20, 2024.
In late 1950, Simmons was a member of Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 6, 1950, after his unit was engaged with enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. The exact circumstances of his loss are not historically available, and there was never a record he was held captive as a POW.
Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 26, 2024
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Banta, D.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta, 21, of Los Angeles, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023.
In early 1944, Banta was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Feb 24, Banta, an engineer onboard a B-24J “Liberator”, was killed in action when his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. One of the surviving crewmembers reported seeing the plane on fire and in a steep dive, before eventually exploding on the ground. While two crewmembers survived, the others, including Banta, were killed in the incident. German forces garrisoned in the area documented the crash site north of Leimbach Bahnhof, near Bad Salzungen, Germany. After the crash, German troops recovered the remains of the ball turret gunner and buried them in a local cemetery. The other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for following the war.
In March 1952, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, took custody of comingled unidentified remains recovered from Bad Salzungen Cemetery. These remains, X-9093 Griesheim Mausoleum (X-9093), X-9094 Griesheim Mausoleum (X-9094), and X-9095 Griesheim Mausoleum (X-9095), were believed to be those belonging to Banta’s downed aircraft. At the time, identification of these remains was not possible, and they were interred in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium.
In June 2021, DPAA historians and American Battle Monuments Commission personnel, exhumed X-9093, X-9094, and X-9095 from Ardennes American Cemetery and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis and identification.
To identify Banta’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
TSgt. Banta’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Hombourg, Belgium, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
TSgt. Banta will be buried in Riverside National Cemetery, California, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Pvt. Jeremiah P. Mahoney
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 26, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Mahoney, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Jeremiah P. Mahoney, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 6, 2024.
In January 1945, Mahoney was assigned to Anti-Tank Company, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in the European Theater during World War II. Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve 1944, German forces launched a major offensive operation in the Vosges Mountains in Alsace-Lorraine, France, known as Operation NORDWIND. The German attack surged through Allied defenses along the Franco-German border, and the ensuing battle enveloped two U.S. Corps along a 40-mile-wide front. In the following few weeks, Anti-Tank Company found itself assigned to resupply and reinforce Allied forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller. At some point on Jan. 17, Pvt. Mahoney was killed, but due to the intensity of the fighting his body was unable to be recovered while Anti-Tank Company was forced to withdraw from the area. With no record of German forces capturing Mahoney, and no remains recovered, the War Department issued a “Finding of Death” in January 1946.
Pfc. Joseph C. Murphy
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 24, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Murphy, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Joseph C. Murphy, 20, of Bogalusa, Louisiana, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Apr. 1, 2024.
In late 1942, Murphy was a member of Company I, 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. Murphy 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, Murphy died Oct. 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 713.
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. Two of the sets of remains from Common Grave 713 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In April 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 713 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Murphy’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.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Murphy’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Today, Pfc. Murphy 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.
Pfc. Murphy will be buried in Bogalusa, Louisiana, on Aug. 3, 2024.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Fireman Second Class Joseph W. Carroll
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 21, 2024
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Carroll, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Navy Fireman Second Class (F2c) Joseph W. Carroll, 20, of Caddo, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Aug. 19, 2019.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Carroll was assigned to the battleship 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 the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Carroll.
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 on Oahu.
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 dentifications 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 F2c Carroll.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Carroll’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
F2c Carroll’s name is recorded in the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
F2c Carroll will be buried on Aug. 24, 2024, in the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the US Navy Casualty office at (901) 874-2438.
Private Jacob Gutterman
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 17, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Gutterman, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private Jacob Gutterman, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Mar. 26, 2024.
In summer 1942, Gutterman was a member of the 803rd Engineer Battalion, 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. Gutterman 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.
Corporal William Colby
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 17, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Colby, W.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Corporal William Colby, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for May 2, 2024.
In late 1950, Colby was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
Private 1st Class Lemuel Dent Jr.
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 13, 2024
Soldier Accounted For From WWII (Dent, L.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private 1st Class Lemuel Dent Jr., 30, of Ironsides, Maryland, missing in action during World War II, was accounted for February 2, 2024.
In February 1945, Dent was assigned to the Company L, 3rd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division “Buffalo Soldiers” in the European Theater. On Feb. 8, Dent was killed near the Cinquale Canal, north of Viareggio, Italy. Pfc. Dent was on board a tank that was crossing the canal, when it was struck by enemy mortar, machine gun, and artillery fire. His body was not recovered, and the Germans never reported him a prisoner of war.
Following the war on May 5, 1945, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. AGRC investigators recovered a set of remains, designated as X-124 Castelfiorentino, from a single gravesite approximately 2 miles west of Pietrasanta and 500 yards north of the Cinquale Canal. The investigators initially associated the remains as possibly belonging to a soldier of the 92nd Infantry Division, but didn’t have enough identifying data to make a positive identification. The remains were permanently interred at what is now Florence American Cemetery.
In June 2022, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains of X-124 from Florence American Cemetery for forensic analysis. Historians at the DPAA have determined that the X-124 remains most likely belonged to a member of 3rd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, killed in the vicinity of the Cinquale Canal in December 1944 or February 1945. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Dent’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Pfc. Dent’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Pfc. Dent will be buried in Cheltenham, Maryland on a date to be determined.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Seaman 2nd Class George A. Thompson
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 10, 2024
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Thompson, G.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class (S2c) George A. Thompson, 20, of Omaha, Nebraska, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Oct. 29, 2018.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Thompson was assigned to the battleship 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 the deaths of 429 crewmen, including S2c Thompson.
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 (CIL) at Schofield Barracks. In their analysis, CIL personnel could only identify 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 graves 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 S2c Thompson.
In 2003, renewed efforts to identify the Unknowns of the USS Oklahoma began with the exhumation of one of the 46 graves. In 2015, DPAA received the approval to exhume the rest of the Oklahoma Unknowns from the NMCP, which were accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for identification.
To identify Thompson’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
S2c Thompson’s name is recorded in the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
S2c Thompson will be buried on July 15, 2024, in the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the US Navy Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
Staff Sgt. Edward K. Pyle
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | June 10, 2024
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Pyle, E.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Edward K. Pyle, 31, of Alliance, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Mar. 14, 2024.
In December 1943, Pyle was a member of the 436th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group during World War II. On Dec. 1, he was serving as a gunner onboard a B-24J Liberator bomber while on a bombing mission from Panagarh, India, to the Insein Railroad Yard north of Rangoon, Burma. After reaching the designated target, Pyle’s plane was reportedly hit by anti-aircraft fire, causing the left wing to burst into flames. Witnesses from another aircraft noted seeing Pyle’s aircraft enter a steep dive while disappearing below the clouds. It was noted that 3 enemy aircraft were also seen following the crippled plane into the clouds, and no further contact was made with the Liberator. The remains of the crew were not recovered or identified after the war, and they were all later declared Missing In Action.
In 1947 the American Grave Registration Service (AGRS) recovered the remains of what they believed to be eight individuals involved in a potential B-24 Liberator crash near Yodayadet, Burma. According to local witnesses, there were no survivors from this aviation loss and Japanese forces had instructed local villagers to bury the remains in two large graves. The AGRS designated the remains recovered from these graves as Unknowns X-505A, X-505B, X-505C, X-505D, X-505E, X-505F, X-505G, and X-505H Barrackpore (X-505A-H). The remains could not be scientifically identified at the time and were interred as Unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), Honolulu, Hawaii, also known as the Punchbowl.
In early 2019, DPAA received a family disinterment request for Unknown X-505A-H based on past attempts to associate the remains with other unresolved losses from southern Burma. This led DPAA historians to review the other associated X files from the crash. The Department of Defense approved the disinterment request, and in October, 2020, DPAA personnel exhumed the remains X-505 A thru H from NMCP where they were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Pyle’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
SSgt. Pyle’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
SSgt. Pyle will be buried in Augusta, Michigan, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, call the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.