The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Nathan B. Baskind, 28, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 8, 2024.
In June 1944, Baskind was assigned to Company C, 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion, as a platoon commander of four M-10 tank destroyers. According to historical war records, 1st Lt. Baskind and another man from his company were scouting ahead of their tank destroyers when enemy forces descended upon them in an ambush. The other soldier, heavily wounded, escaped the firefight and made his way back to the main U.S. force, believing Baskind was killed in the attack. Several attempts were made to retrieve Baskind’s body from the ambush point, but they could not locate his remains.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Investigators discovered a death and burial report for 1st Lt. Baskind among the foreign records recovered from the Germans, evidently filed after the war on May 29, 1945, in Meiningen, Germany. The record revealed 1st Lt. Baskind was captured and later died at a hospital for German air force personnel near Cherbourg on June 23, 1944. German forces then buried him in the military cemetery in the city. In early 1948, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent the U.S. Army one of 1st Lt. Baskind’s identification tags. It is believed the German government likely submitted the tag to the ICRC, along with a death and burial report, following the war.
In November 1957, the Volksbund, the German War Grave Commission, contacted the U.S. Army regarding 1st Lt. Baskind. While disinterring a mass grave of what were believed to be 24 Germans buried in the Cherbourg cemetery, a Volksbund team discovered one of 1st Lt. Baskind’s identification tags and remnants of an American-type shirt with a first lieutenant rank and tank destroyer insignia. The remains in the mass grave were commingled, and the German team was unable to separate them into individual sets. The German investigators therefore placed the remains in seven burial pouches and then re-interred them in the Marigny German War Cemetery, 40 miles south of Cherbourg. Subsequent attempts to identify the remains of 1st Lt. Baskind by U.S. and German investigators were not successful.
In 2023, the Volksbund and other interested private research organizations (Operation Benjamin and Lawrence P. Gordon Foundation) exhumed the commingled remains from Marigny War Cemetery for analysis. By February 2024, these researchers contacted DPAA to inform the agency that 1st Lt. Baskind’s remains had been analyzed by a private U.S. laboratory and sought DPAA’s concurrence. To verify Baskind’s remains, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System reviewed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis previously performed.
1st Lt. Baskind’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 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.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA is also thankful for the important contributions of the Volksbund, Operation Benjamin, and the Lawrence P. Gordon Foundation to this mission and to ensuring this hero receives the distinguished burial he deserves.
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 18:14:272025-04-04 18:14:291st Lieutenant Nathan B. Baskind
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Lewis O. McIntosh, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 1, 2024.
In July 1944, McIntosh was a member of Charlie Company, First Battalion, Twenty-fifth Marines, Fourth Marine Division. He was killed July 4 during Operation Forager on the island of Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. Marines ashore on the island were under constant assault from Japanese mortars, which caused heavy casualties and impeded American’s movements. The exact cause of McIntosh’s death is unknown, and his remains were not known to have been recovered. The War Department declared him non-recoverable in 1951.
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 18:13:492025-04-04 18:13:51Pvt. Lewis O. McIntosh
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Titterington, E.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Fireman 1st Class (F1c) Everett C. Titterington, 21, of Milford, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 23, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Titterington 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 F1c Titterington.
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 Titterington.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Titterington’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.
F1c Titterington’s name is recorded on the Walls 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.
F1c Titterington will be buried on September 5, 2024, in Bloomington, California.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service 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 18:13:232025-04-04 18:13:25Fireman 1st Class Everett C. Titterington
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Spruell, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Corporal John A. Spruell, 19, of Cortez, Colorado, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 11, 2023.
In Dec. 1950, Spruell was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in intensive combat actions in the vicinity of Hagaru-ri, South Korea, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time the circumstances for his loss were not immediately recorded, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a finding of Missing In Action on Dec. 6, 1950.
Following the war, in 1954, the opposing nations reached an agreement to exchange war dead, the execution of which was known as Operation GLORY. One set of Unknown remains, designated X-15754 OP GLORY, was reportedly recovered near the Chosin Reservoir in the vicinity of where the 57th Field Artillery Battalion were known to be fighting. A tentative association was made between X-15754 and Spruell, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-15754 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. On March 8, 2021, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-15754 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.
To identify Spruell’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Cpl Spruell’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.
Cpl Spruell will be buried in Cortez, Colorado, 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 18:12:492025-04-04 18:12:51Corporal John A. Spruell
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Seloover, R.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Corporal Richard Seloover, 17, of Whiteside, Illinois, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Jan. 10, 2024.
In Sept. 1950, Seloover was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in combat actions with the enemy along the Naktong River in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, on Sept. 6, 1950. Due to intense fighting in the area, his body could not be recovered at that time. The exact circumstances of his death were unknown, and the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death on December 31, 1953.
On Dec. 29, 1950, Unknown Remains X-348 was recovered from an isolated grave near the village of Bon-Po, roughly 5 miles from where Cpl Seloover was reported lost. The remains could not be identified as Seloover at the time, and the remains were subsequently buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
In June 2021, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-348 and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Seloover’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph and other circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Cpl Seloover’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.
Cpl Seloover will be buried in Rock Falls, Illinois, 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 18:12:202025-04-04 18:12:21Corporal Richard Seloover
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Air Force Maj. John C.G. Kerr, 35, reported missing during the Vietnam War, was accounted for April 24, 2024.
On Aug. 22, 1967, Kerr was piloting an A-26A Invader attack aircraft on a solo nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over the Plain of Jars, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. After Kerr failed to check in via radio and didn’t return from the mission, U.S. forces undertook an extensive electronic and visual search of the estimated area, in which extensive enemy defenses were present, but could not find Kerr or the aircraft. Likely related to this incident, a New China News Agency broadcast reported the Aug. 22 shootdown of an American aircraft near Ban Ban and the deaths of its crewmembers. Kerr was declared Killed in Action on June 4, 1971.
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 18:11:522025-04-04 18:11:54Maj. John C.G. Kerr
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From WWII (Gusie, W.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Fire Controlman 3rd (FC3c) Class William F. Gusie, 19, of Stillwater, Minnesota, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 23, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Gusie 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 Gusie.
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 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 Gusie.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Gusie’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
FC3c Gusie’s name is recorded on the Walls 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.
FC3c Gusie will be buried on June 12, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service 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 18:11:132025-04-04 18:11:14Fire Controlman 3rd Class William F. Gusie
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. John E. McLauchlen Jr., 25, of Detroit, Michigan, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Jan. 25, 2024.
In December 1943, McLauchlen was a member of the 436th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group during World War II. On Dec. 1, he was serving as the pilot of 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, McLauchlen’s plane was reportedly hit by anti-aircraft fire, causing the left wing to burst into flames. Witnesses from another aircraft noted seeing McLauchlen’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. DPAA historians reviewing the associated files believed a more likely association for the remains was possible in X-505A-H. The Department of Defense approved the disinterment request, and in October, 2020, DPAA personnel exhumed the remains from NMCP where they were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify McLauchlen’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
2nd Lt. McLauchlen’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.
2nd Lt. McLauchlen will be buried in Summer 2024, on Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
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 18:09:512025-04-04 18:09:522nd Lt. John E. McLauchlen Jr.
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Williams, L.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private 1st Class Lawrence H. Williams, 22, of Norton, Kansas, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Nov. 7, 2023.
In August 1951, Williams was a member of Able Company, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th U.S. Army during the Korean War. After working with two or three other soldiers from his unit washing vehicles, Williams went for a swim in the nearby Han River, outside of Chongyang, South Korea. The other soldiers witnessed PFC Williams struggle against the fast-flowing currents of the river and eventually submerge. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful, and no search parties were able to locate Williams. The Army issued a finding of death due to “drowning” with his remains being non-recoverable on Nov. 9, 1951.
On Sept. 25, 1951, the remains of an Unknown servicemember (designated X-1945) were recovered from the Han River nearly 40 miles downstream from where PFC Williams was last seen. The distance between the loss location and the recovery point was significant, but it is believed heavy rainfall in the area could have washed the remains of PFC Williams downstream. Ultimately, attempts by the American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRS) to scientifically identify X-1945 were unsuccessful and 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 March 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1945 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.
To identify Williams’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparisons and other circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Pfc. Williams’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.
Pfc. Williams will be buried in Denver, Colorado, 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 18:08:482025-04-04 18:08:49Private 1st Class Lawrence H. Williams
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Harold A. Schafer, 28, of Denver, Colorado, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023.
In December 1944, Schafer was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. After crossing the Saar River on December 6, his battalion captured wooded high ground north of Dillingen, Germany, before being stopped by fierce German resistance. Over several days, his battalion occupied defensive positions on the hill and repulsed numerous enemy counterattacks. Schafer was killed in action on Dec. 10 by enemy machinegun fire while moving to a different fighting position. His body was not recovered due to intense fighting against heavily reinforced German forces. When American forces were ordered to withdraw from the area on December 21, many casualties could not be recovered due to the intensity of the enemy fire.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Dillingen area between 1946 and 1950 but were unable to recover or identify Schafer’s remains. He was officially declared non-recoverable in November 1951.
In 2018, a DPAA historian studying unaccounted-for American soldiers lost during fighting at Dillingen determined that Schafer could potentially be associated to a set of remains designated X-4651 St. Avold. These remains had been recovered from the Dillingen area by AGRC investigators in 1946. In August 2021 the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), exhumed the X-4651 remains, from Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. The remains were then sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Schafer’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as dental and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Schafer’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France, 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.
Staff Sgt. Schafer will be buried in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA would also like to thank Mr. Chris Seiwert, Mr. Peter Jung, and the Verein zur Bergung Gefallener in Osteuropa e.V. (VBGO) in Germany for assistance with information related to Schafer’s case and other 90th Infantry Division losses and battle sites in the Pachten-Dillingen area.
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 18:08:142025-04-04 18:08:15Staff Sgt. Harold A. Schafer
1st Lieutenant Nathan B. Baskind
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | May 10, 2024
Tanker Accounted for from WWII (Baskind, N.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Nathan B. Baskind, 28, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 8, 2024.
In June 1944, Baskind was assigned to Company C, 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion, as a platoon commander of four M-10 tank destroyers. According to historical war records, 1st Lt. Baskind and another man from his company were scouting ahead of their tank destroyers when enemy forces descended upon them in an ambush. The other soldier, heavily wounded, escaped the firefight and made his way back to the main U.S. force, believing Baskind was killed in the attack. Several attempts were made to retrieve Baskind’s body from the ambush point, but they could not locate his remains.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Investigators discovered a death and burial report for 1st Lt. Baskind among the foreign records recovered from the Germans, evidently filed after the war on May 29, 1945, in Meiningen, Germany. The record revealed 1st Lt. Baskind was captured and later died at a hospital for German air force personnel near Cherbourg on June 23, 1944. German forces then buried him in the military cemetery in the city. In early 1948, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent the U.S. Army one of 1st Lt. Baskind’s identification tags. It is believed the German government likely submitted the tag to the ICRC, along with a death and burial report, following the war.
In November 1957, the Volksbund, the German War Grave Commission, contacted the U.S. Army regarding 1st Lt. Baskind. While disinterring a mass grave of what were believed to be 24 Germans buried in the Cherbourg cemetery, a Volksbund team discovered one of 1st Lt. Baskind’s identification tags and remnants of an American-type shirt with a first lieutenant rank and tank destroyer insignia. The remains in the mass grave were commingled, and the German team was unable to separate them into individual sets. The German investigators therefore placed the remains in seven burial pouches and then re-interred them in the Marigny German War Cemetery, 40 miles south of Cherbourg. Subsequent attempts to identify the remains of 1st Lt. Baskind by U.S. and German investigators were not successful.
In 2023, the Volksbund and other interested private research organizations (Operation Benjamin and Lawrence P. Gordon Foundation) exhumed the commingled remains from Marigny War Cemetery for analysis. By February 2024, these researchers contacted DPAA to inform the agency that 1st Lt. Baskind’s remains had been analyzed by a private U.S. laboratory and sought DPAA’s concurrence. To verify Baskind’s remains, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System reviewed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis previously performed.
1st Lt. Baskind’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 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.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA is also thankful for the important contributions of the Volksbund, Operation Benjamin, and the Lawrence P. Gordon Foundation to this mission and to ensuring this hero receives the distinguished burial he deserves.
Pvt. Lewis O. McIntosh
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | May 9, 2024
Marine Accounted for from WWII (McIntosh, L.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Lewis O. McIntosh, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 1, 2024.
In July 1944, McIntosh was a member of Charlie Company, First Battalion, Twenty-fifth Marines, Fourth Marine Division. He was killed July 4 during Operation Forager on the island of Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. Marines ashore on the island were under constant assault from Japanese mortars, which caused heavy casualties and impeded American’s movements. The exact cause of McIntosh’s death is unknown, and his remains were not known to have been recovered. The War Department declared him non-recoverable in 1951.
Fireman 1st Class Everett C. Titterington
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | May 6, 2024
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Titterington, E.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Fireman 1st Class (F1c) Everett C. Titterington, 21, of Milford, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 23, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Titterington 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 F1c Titterington.
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 Titterington.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Titterington’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.
F1c Titterington’s name is recorded on the Walls 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.
F1c Titterington will be buried on September 5, 2024, in Bloomington, California.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
Corporal John A. Spruell
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | May 6, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Spruell, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Corporal John A. Spruell, 19, of Cortez, Colorado, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 11, 2023.
In Dec. 1950, Spruell was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in intensive combat actions in the vicinity of Hagaru-ri, South Korea, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time the circumstances for his loss were not immediately recorded, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a finding of Missing In Action on Dec. 6, 1950.
Following the war, in 1954, the opposing nations reached an agreement to exchange war dead, the execution of which was known as Operation GLORY. One set of Unknown remains, designated X-15754 OP GLORY, was reportedly recovered near the Chosin Reservoir in the vicinity of where the 57th Field Artillery Battalion were known to be fighting. A tentative association was made between X-15754 and Spruell, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-15754 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. On March 8, 2021, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-15754 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.
To identify Spruell’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Cpl Spruell’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.
Cpl Spruell will be buried in Cortez, Colorado, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Corporal Richard Seloover
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | May 3, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Seloover, R.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Corporal Richard Seloover, 17, of Whiteside, Illinois, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Jan. 10, 2024.
In Sept. 1950, Seloover was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in combat actions with the enemy along the Naktong River in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, on Sept. 6, 1950. Due to intense fighting in the area, his body could not be recovered at that time. The exact circumstances of his death were unknown, and the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death on December 31, 1953.
On Dec. 29, 1950, Unknown Remains X-348 was recovered from an isolated grave near the village of Bon-Po, roughly 5 miles from where Cpl Seloover was reported lost. The remains could not be identified as Seloover at the time, and the remains were subsequently buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
In June 2021, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-348 and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Seloover’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph and other circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Cpl Seloover’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.
Cpl Seloover will be buried in Rock Falls, Illinois, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Maj. John C.G. Kerr
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | April 29, 2024
Pilot Accounted For From Vietnam War (Kerr, J.)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Air Force Maj. John C.G. Kerr, 35, reported missing during the Vietnam War, was accounted for April 24, 2024.
On Aug. 22, 1967, Kerr was piloting an A-26A Invader attack aircraft on a solo nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over the Plain of Jars, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. After Kerr failed to check in via radio and didn’t return from the mission, U.S. forces undertook an extensive electronic and visual search of the estimated area, in which extensive enemy defenses were present, but could not find Kerr or the aircraft. Likely related to this incident, a New China News Agency broadcast reported the Aug. 22 shootdown of an American aircraft near Ban Ban and the deaths of its crewmembers. Kerr was declared Killed in Action on June 4, 1971.
Fire Controlman 3rd Class William F. Gusie
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | April 22, 2024
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From WWII (Gusie, W.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Fire Controlman 3rd (FC3c) Class William F. Gusie, 19, of Stillwater, Minnesota, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 23, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Gusie 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 Gusie.
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 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 Gusie.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Gusie’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
FC3c Gusie’s name is recorded on the Walls 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.
FC3c Gusie will be buried on June 12, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
2nd Lt. John E. McLauchlen Jr.
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | April 22, 2024
Pilot Accounted for from WWII (McLauchlen, J.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. John E. McLauchlen Jr., 25, of Detroit, Michigan, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Jan. 25, 2024.
In December 1943, McLauchlen was a member of the 436th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group during World War II. On Dec. 1, he was serving as the pilot of 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, McLauchlen’s plane was reportedly hit by anti-aircraft fire, causing the left wing to burst into flames. Witnesses from another aircraft noted seeing McLauchlen’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. DPAA historians reviewing the associated files believed a more likely association for the remains was possible in X-505A-H. The Department of Defense approved the disinterment request, and in October, 2020, DPAA personnel exhumed the remains from NMCP where they were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify McLauchlen’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
2nd Lt. McLauchlen’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.
2nd Lt. McLauchlen will be buried in Summer 2024, on Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
For family and funeral information, call the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Private 1st Class Lawrence H. Williams
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | April 18, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Williams, L.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private 1st Class Lawrence H. Williams, 22, of Norton, Kansas, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Nov. 7, 2023.
In August 1951, Williams was a member of Able Company, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th U.S. Army during the Korean War. After working with two or three other soldiers from his unit washing vehicles, Williams went for a swim in the nearby Han River, outside of Chongyang, South Korea. The other soldiers witnessed PFC Williams struggle against the fast-flowing currents of the river and eventually submerge. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful, and no search parties were able to locate Williams. The Army issued a finding of death due to “drowning” with his remains being non-recoverable on Nov. 9, 1951.
On Sept. 25, 1951, the remains of an Unknown servicemember (designated X-1945) were recovered from the Han River nearly 40 miles downstream from where PFC Williams was last seen. The distance between the loss location and the recovery point was significant, but it is believed heavy rainfall in the area could have washed the remains of PFC Williams downstream. Ultimately, attempts by the American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRS) to scientifically identify X-1945 were unsuccessful and 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 March 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1945 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.
To identify Williams’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparisons and other circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Pfc. Williams’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.
Pfc. Williams will be buried in Denver, Colorado, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Staff Sgt. Harold A. Schafer
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | April 18, 2024
Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Schafer, H.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Harold A. Schafer, 28, of Denver, Colorado, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023.
In December 1944, Schafer was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. After crossing the Saar River on December 6, his battalion captured wooded high ground north of Dillingen, Germany, before being stopped by fierce German resistance. Over several days, his battalion occupied defensive positions on the hill and repulsed numerous enemy counterattacks. Schafer was killed in action on Dec. 10 by enemy machinegun fire while moving to a different fighting position. His body was not recovered due to intense fighting against heavily reinforced German forces. When American forces were ordered to withdraw from the area on December 21, many casualties could not be recovered due to the intensity of the enemy fire.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Dillingen area between 1946 and 1950 but were unable to recover or identify Schafer’s remains. He was officially declared non-recoverable in November 1951.
In 2018, a DPAA historian studying unaccounted-for American soldiers lost during fighting at Dillingen determined that Schafer could potentially be associated to a set of remains designated X-4651 St. Avold. These remains had been recovered from the Dillingen area by AGRC investigators in 1946. In August 2021 the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), exhumed the X-4651 remains, from Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. The remains were then sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Schafer’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as dental and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Schafer’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France, 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.
Staff Sgt. Schafer will be buried in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA would also like to thank Mr. Chris Seiwert, Mr. Peter Jung, and the Verein zur Bergung Gefallener in Osteuropa e.V. (VBGO) in Germany for assistance with information related to Schafer’s case and other 90th Infantry Division losses and battle sites in the Pachten-Dillingen area.