Press Release | Aug. 14, 2023

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Sharrow, R.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Sgt. Richard M. Sharrow, 22, of Marienville, Pennsylvania, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Jan. 24, 2023.

In July 1950, Sharrow was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on July 25 after his unit sustained heavy casualties while defending against the North Korean Army’s advance near Yongdong, South Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953, and his remains were determined non-recoverable in Jan. 16, 1956.

The U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps (AGRSG) was responsible for recovering, identifying, and repatriating those lost during the Korean War. In the spring of 1951, they recovered a set of remains designated as Unknown X-1023 near Yongdong. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-1023 the remains were declared unidentifiable. In April 1955, the remains were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, with other Korean War Unknowns.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. On Oct. 21, 2019, the DPAA disinterred X-1023, as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Sharrow’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.

Sharrow’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.

Sharrow will be buried in Marienville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 25, 2023

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

Press Release | Aug. 10, 2023

Airman Accounted for from World War II (Kendall, W.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces Sgt. Willard S. Kendall, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 13, 2023.

In February 1944, Kendall was assigned to the 32d Bombardment Squadron, 301st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. On Feb. 25 Kendall was a tail gunner on the B-17G Flying Fortress that was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on the Prufening aircraft factory in Regensburg, Germany.

Eight of the nine crewmembers bailed successfully before the plane exploded and crashed northwest of Krakaudorf, Austria. During the fighter attack, Kendall called over the interphone about five minutes before the bail-out order was given reporting that he had been hit. Before bailing out of the aircraft multiple crewmen saw Kendall had died at his tail gunner position and agreed he went down with the plane.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. In July 1946, the 347th Quartermaster Battalion visited Krakaudorf, Austria after a local priest reported an American flier was buried in Grave 93 at the Krakaudorf Cemetery. The AGRC could not identify the remains, they were designated X-6853 St. Avold and transferred to the U.S. Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France in August 1946. Kendall was declared non-recoverable Sept. 22, 1950.

In the September 2017, the DPAA, sent an investigation team to Krakaudorf, after reviewing church records and eyewitness statements there was sufficient evidence to link Unknown X-6853 to Sgt. Kendall. In June 2019, X-6853 was disinterred from the Rhône American Cemetery and sent to the DPAA Laboratory for forensic analysis.

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

Kendall’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Firenze, Italy, 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.

Kendall will be buried in Forest Park, Illinois, on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | Aug. 9, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Jury, F.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Francis James Jury, 23, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Feb. 10, 2022.

In late 1950, Cpl. Jury was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, during battle with enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war.

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 Cpl. Jury’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Cpl. Jury’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.

Cpl. Jury will be buried at Annville, Pennsylvania, on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | Aug. 7, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Sweeney, B.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Sgt. Bernard J. Sweeney, Jr., 22, of Waterbury, Connecticut, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 14, 2021.

In December 1944, Sweeney was assigned to Company I, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. His unit had been engaged in battle with German forces near Strass, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 16. His body was not recovered.

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 recover or identify Sweeney’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in November 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2752 Neuville, recovered from a minefield north of Kleinhau, Germany, in 1946 possibly belonged to Sweeney. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

To identify Sweeney’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) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Sweeney’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.

Sweeney will be laid to rest Oct. 10, 2023, in Wading River, New York.

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

Press Release | Aug. 1, 2023

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Jones, W.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Wesley L. Jones, 22, of Wichita, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 16, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Jones was assigned to the 345^th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98^th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9^th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Jones was the gunner 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 Jones’ 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.

Jones’ 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.

Jones will be buried in Wichita, Kansas, on a date to be determined.

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