Press Release | March 28, 2024

USS California Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Walker, D.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Mess Attendant 3rd Class (Matt3c) David Walker, 19, of Norfolk, Virginia, killed during World War II, was accounted for on November 27, 2023.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Walker was assigned to the battleship USS California, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 103 crewmen, including Walker. 

From December 1941 to April 1942, 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. In addition to the 42 casualties from the USS California initially identified after the attack, the laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 39 men from the USS California at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified the remains of the unresolved crew members, including Walker, as non-recoverable.

In 2018, DPAA personnel exhumed the 25 USS California Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

To identify Walker’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Walker’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.

Matt3c Walker will be buried on September 5, 2024, in Arlington National Cemetery.

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.

Press Release | March 25, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Herrick, J.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. John O. Herrick, 19, of Emporia, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 21, 2023.

In June 1944, Herrick was assigned to Company B, 149th Engineer Combat Battalion in the European Theater. On June 6, “D-Day”, Herrick was aboard Landing Craft Infantry (Large) 92, along with roughly 200 other servicemembers, enroute to land on Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France. As LCI-92 steamed toward the shore, it struck an underwater mine which caused the craft to burst into flames. The craft was also hit by enemy artillery fire, causing an explosion that ignited the ships fuel stores and instantly killed everyone in the troop compartment. Due to the urgency of the situation, it was impossible for others to search for survivors. Herrick’s remains were not accounted for after the war.

Around June 10, members of the 500^th Medical Collecting Company examined the wreckage of LCI-92 and noted the burnt remains of servicemen in the troop compartment, where Herrick and others were last seen. American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, removed small amounts of remains from LCI-92 and buried them in the United States Military Cemetery (USMC) St. Laurent-sur-Mer.

Beginning in 1946, AGRC analyzed the remains found in LCI-92, segregating them into four separate Unknowns (X-53, X-83, X-83B, and X-83C). Despite their efforts, AGRC were unable to identify the Unknowns at the time and they were interred in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Normandy, France.

In June and August 2021, the Department of Defense and ABMC officials exhumed the comingled remains of the four Unknowns and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.

To identify Herrick’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Herrick’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Sgt. Herrick will be buried November 11, 2024, in Emporia, Kansas.

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

Press Release | March 22, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Smith, J.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Jimmy D. Smith, 21, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 11, 2023.

In July 1950, Smith was a member of Medical Company, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. He was killed in action after his unit engaged in defensive actions near Changchong-ni, Republic of Korea (South Korea), on July 30. Due to intense fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. With no further information the Army declared Smith killed in action on July 30, 1950.

In early 1951, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interred them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Pusan. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-340 Tanggok (X-340), recovered in the vicinity of Nae-dong, South Korea, near where Smith went missing. A tentative association was made between X-340 and Smith, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-340 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. DPAA disinterred Unknown X-340 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Smith’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.

Smith’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. Smith will be buried in Kingsburg, California, on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | March 21, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Poulter, H.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Harold O. Poulter, 23, of Charleston, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for January 17, 2024.

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

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

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

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

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

Pvt. Poulter will be buried in Lerna, Illinois, on June 4, 2024.

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

Press Release | March 19, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Eshelman, P.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Paul F. Eshelman Jr., 21, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 27, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Eshelman was assigned to the 344th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, Eshelman was the radio operator onboard a B-24 Liberator bomber “Tagalong” when it was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The plane crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania. 

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.

To identify Eshelman’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Eshelman name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the 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.

Eshelman will be buried in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, on a date to be determined.

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