Press Release | July 28, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Miller, J.)

WASHINGTON   –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. James L. Miller, 21, of Detroit, Michigan, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Nov. 28, 2022.

In late 1950, Miller was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Miller and the 24^th Infantry Regiment took part in the unsuccessful defense of the town of Sangju in July 1950. He was reported killed in action on July 30, while fighting with the North Korean forces. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. Miller was declared nonrecoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.

After regaining control of Sanju in the fall of 1950, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Taejon. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-5156. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-5156, the remains were declared unidentifiable. They were later sent to Hawaii where they 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 Punchbowl. On Nov. 4, 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-5156 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

To identify Miller’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological analysis as well as chest radiograph comparison.. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Miller’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.

Miller 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 | July 27, 2023

Soldier Accounted for From Korean War (Gosnell, A.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Albert A. Gosnell 18, of Greenville, South Carolina, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for May 15, 2023.

In July 1950, Gosnell was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 19^th Infantry Regiment, 24^th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action after his unit was forced to retreat in the vicinity of Taejon, South Korea, on July 16, 1950. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.

After regaining control of Taejon in the fall of 1950, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Taejon. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-274 Taejon. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-274, the remains were declared unidentifiable. They were later sent to Hawaii where they 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 Punchbowl. In July 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-274 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Gosnell’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.

Gosnell’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.

Gosnell will be buried in Anderson, South Carolina, on a date to be determined.

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

Press Release | July 26, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War ( Wilkinson, J.)

WASHINGTON   –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James L. Wilkinson, 19, of Bowden, Georgia, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Dec. 5, 2022.

In July 1950, Wilkinson, was a member of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action during fighting along the Naktong River near Yongson, South Korea, on Sept. 8. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953. 

In July 1951, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Tanggok. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-1588. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-1588, the remains were declared unidentifiable. They were later sent to Hawaii where they 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 Punchbowl. On March 25, 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1588 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Wilkinson’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.

Wilkinson’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.

Wilkinson will be buried on Sept. 16, 2023, in Barrow County, Georgia.

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

Press Release | July 24, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Radanovich, J.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sergeant John W. Radanovich, 23, of Mount Olive, Illinois, reported missing during World War II, was accounted for May 11, 2023.

In November 1944, Radanovich was assigned to Company G, 2^nd Battalion, 22^nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His rifle platoon was engaged in battle with German forces near the town of Grosshau, in Hürtgen Forest, Germany when he was reported missing in action Dec. 1, 1944. Despite continued progress against German fighting positions, many soldiers were killed along the Company G battle line. The Germans never reported Radanovich as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not immediately recovered. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death in December 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 Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950. None of the remains recovered during that time were identified as Radanovich.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen Forest, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2754A Neuville, recovered near Grosshau in 1946 possibly belonged to Radanovich. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Radanovich’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 autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Radanovich’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.

Radanovich will be buried in Mount Olive, Illinois on a date yet 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

Press Release | July 19, 2023

Medal of Honor Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Ward, J.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class James R. Ward, 20, of Springfield, Ohio, killed during World War II, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, was accounted for on Aug. 19, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Ward 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.

Before the ship capsized and the order was given to abandon ship, Ward remained in a turret holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life. For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, Ward’s parents were presented with his Medal of Honor in March 1942. And the destroyer escort USS J. Richard Ward DE-243 was named in honor of Seaman Ward. It was commissioned in 1943 and decommissioned in 1946.

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 Ward.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

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

Ward’s name is recorded on 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.

Ward will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, on Dec. 21, 2023.  

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Personnel Command’s Public Affairs Office at 901-874-4528.