The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, Florida, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 13, 2023.
In January 1944, Hall was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater. On Jan. 21, Hall, a left waist gunner on board a B-24D Liberator Queen Marlene, was killed in action when his plane was attacked by German air forces near Équennes-Éramecourt, France. German forces quickly found the crash site and recovered nine sets of remains, which were then interred them in the French cemetery at Poix-de-Picardie. Hall’s remains were not accounted for after the war.
Beginning in 1945, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Équennes-Éramecourt. None of the investigations uncovered any leads regarding the disposition of Hall’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable on March 01, 1951.
DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Équennes-Éramecourt and found that X-391 St. Andre (X-391) and X-393 St. Andre (X-393), buried in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site, could be associated with Hall. X-391 and X-393 were disinterred in April 2018 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis where it was later determined the remains of X-393 belonged to Hall.
To identify Hall’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.
Hall’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hall will be buried in Leesburg, Florida, 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 17:21:112025-04-04 17:21:13Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Gene F. Walker, 27, of Richmond, Indiana, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 21, 2023.
In November 1944, Walker was assigned to Company H, 3rd Battalion, 32nd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, as the commander of an M4 Sherman tank. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hücheln, Germany, when his tank was hit by an 88-mm anti-tank round. The hit caused a fire and is believed to have killed Walker instantaneously. The surviving crew bailed out of the tank, but when they regrouped later were unable to remove Walker from the tank due to heavy fighting. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death in April 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hücheln area September 1948. Town locals were interviewed, but there were no reports of deceased American servicemembers in the area. All efforts to locate 2LT Walker proved unsuccessful at the time.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hücheln area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-157 Henri-Chapelle, recovered from one of the burned-out tanks in Hücheln in December 1944 possibly belonged to Walker. The remains, which had been buried in Henri-Chapelle U.S. Military Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, were disinterred in August 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Walker’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).
Walker’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands, 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.
Walker will be buried in San Diego, California, in early 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 17:20:362025-04-04 17:20:382nd Lt. Gene F. Walker
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Boudreaux, R.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Mess Attendant 1st Class Ralph M. Boudreaux, 20, of New Orleans, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 26, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Boudreaux 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 Boudreaux.
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 Boudreaux.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Boudreaux’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Boudreaux’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.
Boudreaux will be buried on Jan. 29, 2024, in Slidell, Louisiana.
For family and funeral information, contact the 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 17:20:062025-04-04 17:20:08Mess Attendant 1st Class Ralph M. Boudreaux
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force 2nd Lt. Kenyon Brindley, 23, of Little Rock, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 21, 2023.
In early 1944, Brindley was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Feb 24, Brindley, a bombardier 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 Brindley, 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 Brindley, 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 2nd Lt. Brindley’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 Brindley’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Brindley’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.
Brindley will be buried on Dec. 18, 2023, in Conway, Arkansas.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (De Anda, D.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Daniel De Anda, 22, of Pico, California, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for Jan. 10, 2023.
In late 1950, De Anda was a member of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, 8th U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea, on Nov. 30, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on. In 1953, two POWs who returned during Operation Big Switch reported De Anda had been a prisoner of war and died in March 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.
In the late summer and fall of 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #5, to the United Nations Command. None were associated with Tuttle.
One set of remains disinterred from Camp #5 returned during Operation Glory was designated Unknown X-14598 and 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 August 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14598 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify De Anda’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
De Anda’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s 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.
De Anda will be buried March 15, 2024, in Whittier, California.
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 17:18:562025-04-04 17:18:58Cpl. Daniel De Anda
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Robert J. Ferris Jr., 20, of Long Island, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 22, 2023.
In December of 1942, Ferris was assigned to the 401st Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force. On December 20, Ferris was a crewmember onboard a B-17F “Flying Fortress,” nicknamed Danellen, when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on a German aircraft factory at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. Ferris’s aircraft was last seen spinning towards the ground, crashing near the village of Bernières-sur-Seine, France. Only one airman parachuted successfully, while the other eight crew members, including Ferris, were still on board. A villager witnessed the crash and confirmed there was only one survivor. The War Department issued a finding of death for Staff Sgt. Ferris on Sept. 23, 1943.
Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. Following the war, the AGRC disinterred four sets of remains later designated as X-83, X-84, X-85, and X-86 St. Andre from Evreux cemetery. They were unable to identify the remains and were interred at the Normandy American Cemetery.
In 2011, a family member of one of the Danellen crew contacted the Department of Defense after visiting the crash site and interviewing a witness who had artifacts belonging to the Danellen. In April 2011, DPAA historians re-analyzed the unknowns associated with the crew and determined there was enough evidence to pursue the case. In October that year, a DPAA Investigation Team traveled to Bernières-sur-Seine to interview the witness and learned the crash site was completely destroyed. In March 2019, the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) exhumed the unknown remains designated X-83, X-85, and X-86 St. Andre believed to be associated with the crew of the Danellen, including Staff Sgt. Ferris, from Normandy American Cemetery.
To identify Ferris’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Ferris’s name is recorded on the memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Cambridge, England, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Ferris will be buried in New Bern, North Carolina, 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 17:18:272025-04-04 17:18:29Staff Sgt. Robert J. Ferris Jr.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Clinton E. Smith, Jr., 19, of Wichita Falls, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 28, 2022.
In January 1945, Smith was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. The unit was engaged with German forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France and was surrounded, along with four other companies. Smith was killed in an artillery strike on Jan. 14, but his body could not be recovered because of the fighting.
Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Reipertswiller, finding 37 unidentified sets of American remains, none of which could be identified as Smith. He was declared non-recoverable on March 29, 1951.
DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Reipertswiller, and found that X-6985 St. Avold, which had been buried at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Belgium, could be associated with Smith. X-6985 was disinterred in August 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 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 Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Dinozé, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Smith will be buried in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov 27, 2023.
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 17:17:492025-04-04 17:17:51Pfc. Clinton E. Smith, Jr.
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Herrington, W.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. William J. Herrington, 19, of Alliance, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 26, 2022.
In late 1950, Herrington was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, while fighting a series of major battles with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (CPVA) on the eastern shore of the Chosin Reservoir, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K. or North Korea). When Herrington’s unit regrouped in Hangnam, he could not be located and was reported missing. There is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. Herrington, absent any evidence of his continued survival, was declared nonrecoverable and the Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Herrington’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Herrington’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Herrington will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, in July, 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 17:17:212025-04-04 17:17:22Cpl. William J. Herrington
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Pfc. Henry J. McConnell, 28, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for July 27, 2023.
In early 1942, McConnell was assigned to the 2nd Observation Squadron in the Philippines, 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. McConnell was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, McConnell died July 26, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.
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. Three of the sets of remains from Common Grave 225 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In March 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify McConnell’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, McConnell’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
McConnell will be buried in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on November 30, 2023.
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 17:16:522025-04-04 17:16:54Pfc. Henry J. McConnell
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. R. V. Leo Short, 19, of Seminole, Oklahoma, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 22, 2023.
In November 1950, Short was a member of George Company, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. He went missing in action after his unit was forced to retreat from Kunu-ri in the vicinity of Unbong-dong, North Korea. Due to intense fighting in the area, his body could not be recovered at that time. In 1953, several POWs returned during Operation Big Switch reported Short had been a prisoner of war and died in March, 1951, at Prisoner of War Camp #5.
In the fall of 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #5, to the United Nations Command. However, Short’s name did not appear on any of the transfer rosters and the Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan, did not associate any repatriated remains with him. Short was determined non-recoverable in January 1956.
In 2018, DPAA’s request to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns—in seven phases—from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific—also known as the Pounchbowl—in Honolulu, Hawaii, was approved. In September 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14743, a set of remains returned during Operation Glory, as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Short’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.
Short’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.
Short will be buried in Seminole, Oklahoma, on December 9, 2023.
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 17:16:172025-04-04 17:16:18Cpl. R. V. Leo Short
Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 27, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Hall, F.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, Florida, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 13, 2023.
In January 1944, Hall was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater. On Jan. 21, Hall, a left waist gunner on board a B-24D Liberator Queen Marlene, was killed in action when his plane was attacked by German air forces near Équennes-Éramecourt, France. German forces quickly found the crash site and recovered nine sets of remains, which were then interred them in the French cemetery at Poix-de-Picardie. Hall’s remains were not accounted for after the war.
Beginning in 1945, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Équennes-Éramecourt. None of the investigations uncovered any leads regarding the disposition of Hall’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable on March 01, 1951.
DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Équennes-Éramecourt and found that X-391 St. Andre (X-391) and X-393 St. Andre (X-393), buried in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site, could be associated with Hall. X-391 and X-393 were disinterred in April 2018 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis where it was later determined the remains of X-393 belonged to Hall.
To identify Hall’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.
Hall’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hall will be buried in Leesburg, Florida, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
2nd Lt. Gene F. Walker
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 22, 2023
Tanker Accounted for from WWII (Walker, G.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Gene F. Walker, 27, of Richmond, Indiana, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 21, 2023.
In November 1944, Walker was assigned to Company H, 3rd Battalion, 32nd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, as the commander of an M4 Sherman tank. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hücheln, Germany, when his tank was hit by an 88-mm anti-tank round. The hit caused a fire and is believed to have killed Walker instantaneously. The surviving crew bailed out of the tank, but when they regrouped later were unable to remove Walker from the tank due to heavy fighting. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death in April 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hücheln area September 1948. Town locals were interviewed, but there were no reports of deceased American servicemembers in the area. All efforts to locate 2LT Walker proved unsuccessful at the time.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hücheln area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-157 Henri-Chapelle, recovered from one of the burned-out tanks in Hücheln in December 1944 possibly belonged to Walker. The remains, which had been buried in Henri-Chapelle U.S. Military Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, were disinterred in August 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Walker’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).
Walker’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands, 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.
Walker will be buried in San Diego, California, in early 2024.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Mess Attendant 1st Class Ralph M. Boudreaux
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 21, 2023
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Boudreaux, R.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Mess Attendant 1st Class Ralph M. Boudreaux, 20, of New Orleans, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 26, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Boudreaux 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 Boudreaux.
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 Boudreaux.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Boudreaux’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Boudreaux’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.
Boudreaux will be buried on Jan. 29, 2024, in Slidell, Louisiana.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
2nd Lt. Kenyon Brindley
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 20, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Brindley, K.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force 2nd Lt. Kenyon Brindley, 23, of Little Rock, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 21, 2023.
In early 1944, Brindley was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Feb 24, Brindley, a bombardier 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 Brindley, 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 Brindley, 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 2nd Lt. Brindley’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 Brindley’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Brindley’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.
Brindley will be buried on Dec. 18, 2023, in Conway, Arkansas.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Cpl. Daniel De Anda
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 17, 2023
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (De Anda, D.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Daniel De Anda, 22, of Pico, California, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for Jan. 10, 2023.
In late 1950, De Anda was a member of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, 8th U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea, on Nov. 30, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on. In 1953, two POWs who returned during Operation Big Switch reported De Anda had been a prisoner of war and died in March 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.
In the late summer and fall of 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #5, to the United Nations Command. None were associated with Tuttle.
One set of remains disinterred from Camp #5 returned during Operation Glory was designated Unknown X-14598 and 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 August 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14598 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify De Anda’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
De Anda’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s 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.
De Anda will be buried March 15, 2024, in Whittier, California.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Staff Sgt. Robert J. Ferris Jr.
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 16, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Ferris, R.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Robert J. Ferris Jr., 20, of Long Island, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 22, 2023.
In December of 1942, Ferris was assigned to the 401st Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force. On December 20, Ferris was a crewmember onboard a B-17F “Flying Fortress,” nicknamed Danellen, when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on a German aircraft factory at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. Ferris’s aircraft was last seen spinning towards the ground, crashing near the village of Bernières-sur-Seine, France. Only one airman parachuted successfully, while the other eight crew members, including Ferris, were still on board. A villager witnessed the crash and confirmed there was only one survivor. The War Department issued a finding of death for Staff Sgt. Ferris on Sept. 23, 1943.
Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. Following the war, the AGRC disinterred four sets of remains later designated as X-83, X-84, X-85, and X-86 St. Andre from Evreux cemetery. They were unable to identify the remains and were interred at the Normandy American Cemetery.
In 2011, a family member of one of the Danellen crew contacted the Department of Defense after visiting the crash site and interviewing a witness who had artifacts belonging to the Danellen. In April 2011, DPAA historians re-analyzed the unknowns associated with the crew and determined there was enough evidence to pursue the case. In October that year, a DPAA Investigation Team traveled to Bernières-sur-Seine to interview the witness and learned the crash site was completely destroyed. In March 2019, the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) exhumed the unknown remains designated X-83, X-85, and X-86 St. Andre believed to be associated with the crew of the Danellen, including Staff Sgt. Ferris, from Normandy American Cemetery.
To identify Ferris’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Ferris’s name is recorded on the memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Cambridge, England, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Ferris will be buried in New Bern, North Carolina, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Pfc. Clinton E. Smith, Jr.
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 9, 2023
Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Smith, C.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Clinton E. Smith, Jr., 19, of Wichita Falls, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 28, 2022.
In January 1945, Smith was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. The unit was engaged with German forces during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France and was surrounded, along with four other companies. Smith was killed in an artillery strike on Jan. 14, but his body could not be recovered because of the fighting.
Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Reipertswiller, finding 37 unidentified sets of American remains, none of which could be identified as Smith. He was declared non-recoverable on March 29, 1951.
DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Reipertswiller, and found that X-6985 St. Avold, which had been buried at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Belgium, could be associated with Smith. X-6985 was disinterred in August 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 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 Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Dinozé, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Smith will be buried in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov 27, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Cpl. William J. Herrington
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 9, 2023
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Herrington, W.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. William J. Herrington, 19, of Alliance, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 26, 2022.
In late 1950, Herrington was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, while fighting a series of major battles with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (CPVA) on the eastern shore of the Chosin Reservoir, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K. or North Korea). When Herrington’s unit regrouped in Hangnam, he could not be located and was reported missing. There is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. Herrington, absent any evidence of his continued survival, was declared nonrecoverable and the Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Herrington’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Herrington’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.
Herrington will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, in July, 2024.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Pfc. Henry J. McConnell
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 8, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (McConnell, H.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Pfc. Henry J. McConnell, 28, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for July 27, 2023.
In early 1942, McConnell was assigned to the 2nd Observation Squadron in the Philippines, 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. McConnell was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, McConnell died July 26, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.
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. Three of the sets of remains from Common Grave 225 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In March 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify McConnell’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, McConnell’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
McConnell will be buried in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on November 30, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Cpl. R. V. Leo Short
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Nov. 7, 2023
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Short, L.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. R. V. Leo Short, 19, of Seminole, Oklahoma, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 22, 2023.
In November 1950, Short was a member of George Company, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. He went missing in action after his unit was forced to retreat from Kunu-ri in the vicinity of Unbong-dong, North Korea. Due to intense fighting in the area, his body could not be recovered at that time. In 1953, several POWs returned during Operation Big Switch reported Short had been a prisoner of war and died in March, 1951, at Prisoner of War Camp #5.
In the fall of 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #5, to the United Nations Command. However, Short’s name did not appear on any of the transfer rosters and the Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan, did not associate any repatriated remains with him. Short was determined non-recoverable in January 1956.
In 2018, DPAA’s request to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns—in seven phases—from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific—also known as the Pounchbowl—in Honolulu, Hawaii, was approved. In September 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14743, a set of remains returned during Operation Glory, as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Short’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.
Short’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.
Short will be buried in Seminole, Oklahoma, on December 9, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.