Press Release | Sept. 25, 2023

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Thurston, M.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Max W. Thurston, 19, of Flint, Michigan, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 7, 2023.

In November 1944, Thurston was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His regiment was engaged in fierce fighting near the town of Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported killed in action on Nov. 6. His body was unable to be recovered due to intense fighting against heavily reinforced German forces. As American forces began to secure the area, many casualties were nonrecoverable due to dense tangled vegetation and heavy snowfall.

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 Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to identify Thurston’s remains among hundreds recovered during that period. He was officially declared Killed in Action in November 1944.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-7476 Neuville, recovered in April 1948, possibly belonged to Thurston. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, in 1949, were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Thurston’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.

Thurston’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, 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.

Thurston will be buried in Holly, Michigan on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | Sept. 21, 2023

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Dailey, M.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2^nd Lt. Max E. Dailey, 21, of Cherokee, Iowa, killed during World War II was accounted for June 22, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Dailey served with the 409th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Dailey was serving as a navigator, crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire 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 Dailey’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) analysis and autosomal DNA (auSTR).

Dailey’s 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.

Dailey will be buried in Charles City, Iowa, on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | Sept. 14, 2023

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Stahl, A.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2^nd Lt. Albert W. Stahl, 22, of Buffalo, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 30, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Stahl was assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93d Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Stahl was the navigator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and 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 at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

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

Stahl’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Stahl will be buried in Kenmore, New York, in the Spring of 2024.

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

Press Release | Sept. 11, 2023

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Reynolds, C.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Charles G. Reynolds, 24, of Bridgeport, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 18, 2023.

In late November 1943, Reynolds was a pilot assigned to the 498th Bombardment Squadron, 345th Bombardment Group, in the Southwest Pacific Theater. On November 27, the B-25D Mitchell which Reynolds was a crewmember of, did not return from its bombing mission near Wewak, New Guinea. The aircraft had sustained heavy damage from anti-aircraft fire and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in the waters of Karau Lagoon, in the Murik Lakes. Efforts to recover Reynolds’s remains were unsuccessful, and the crew was labeled Missing In Action.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, conducted exhaustive searches of battle areas and crash sites in New Guinea, concluding their search in late 1948. Investigators recovered fragmentary sets of human remains near Murik, as well as wreckage that was identified as belonging to a B-25 Mitchell. The remains, designated X-4180 and X-4196, were consolidated and declared unidentifiable, and were interred at Fort McKinley Cemetery in Manila.

After reviewing archival documents and the personnel files for a number of unresolved service members, including 1st Lt Reynolds, DPAA historians and forensic anthropologists recommended the exhumation of the Unknown from the cemetery in Manila. This recommendation was approved in May 2020, and on 19 December 2020, X-4180 was exhumed and sent to the DPAA Laboratory for identification.

To identify Reynolds’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Reynolds’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 others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Reynolds will be buried in Bridgeport, Ohio, on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | Sept. 7, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Searle, R.)

WASHINGTON   –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Roy J. Searle, 22, of Providence, Rhode Island, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 27, 2022.

In December 1944, Searle was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. His unit crossed the Saar River on Dec. 6 and attempted for the next several days to capture and hold two heavily defended towns of Pachten and Dillingen, Germany. Searle was mortally wounded during enemy engagement on Dec. 9, and was reported to have died of his wounds. In mid-December 1944, the 90th Infantry Division was ordered to withdraw to assist the American effort in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. The tactical situation prevented the 357th Infantry from recovering the remains of all of its fallen before relocating.

Searle’s body was among those not recovered.

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 Pachten-Dillingen area from 1946 to 1950 but were unable to recover or identify Searle’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in October 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Pachten-Dillingen area, DPAA historians analyzed documentation related to a set of unidentified remains, designated X-4650 St. Avold, recovered in 1946 from a civilian cemetery in Reimsbach, Germany., Several remains recovered from that cemetery were members of the 90th Infantry Division killed at Pachten and Dillingen, and buried by German forces after the fighting. Historians determined that the X-4650 remains could be associated with Searle. The remains, buried as an Unknown at the Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Laurent, France, were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Searle’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.

Searle’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.

Searle will be buried Sept. 13, 2023, in Lake Worth, Florida.

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