2nd Lt. John F. Minogue

Press Release | March 16, 2023

Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Minogue, J.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. John F. Minogue, 24, of Richfield, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 23, 2022.

In the summer of 1943, Minogue was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Minogue was the co-pilot 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 Minogue’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.

Minogue’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.

Minogue will be buried in Fullerton, California on April 20, 2023.

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

Pfc. Harry J. Hartmann, Jr.

Press Release | March 13, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Hartmann, H.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Harry J. Hartmann, Jr., 19, of Mays Landing, New Jersey, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for July 13, 2022.

In the fall of 1950, Hartmann was a member of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 2 during fighting near Unsan, North Korea. Repatriated POWs reported he had been captured and held as a prisoner of war at Camp #5, Pyoktang, North Korea, where he died on or around March 31, 1951.

During Operation GLORY in the fall of 1954, 495 sets of remains from burial grounds around Camp #5 were returned to United Nations Command. All but 38 were identified. Those remains were buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1956.

In September 2019, during Phase 2 of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, X-14617 Operation GLORY was disinterred from the Punchbowl as part of the planned exhumation of Operation GLORY burials originating from Camp #5, and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii for analysis.

To identify Hartmann’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.

Hartmann’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.

Hartmann will be buried in Mays Landing, New Jersey, on a date yet to be determined.

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

1st Lt. William B. Montgomery

Press Release | March 13, 2023

Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Montgomery, W.)

WASHINGTON   –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William B. Montgomery, 24, of Ford City, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 10, 2023.

In the summer of 1944, Montgomery was assigned to the 844th Bombardment Squadron, 489th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force. On June 22, Montgomery was piloting a B-24H Liberator that was struck by anti-aircraft after a bombing raid on a German airfield in Saint-Cyr-l’École, near Versailles, France.

Despite the damage to the B-24 Liberator, Montgomery’s piloting skill allowed him to nurse the aircraft until it was over the English coast, whereupon he ordered his crew to bail out. Seven of the airmen parachuted successfully while the other three crew members, including Montgomery, were still on board. Two of the crew witnessed the aircraft crashed into a farm in West Sussex, England.

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. In November 1947, AGRC investigators searched the area of the crash site, but they did not discover the remains of any other crewmembers. Montgomery was declared non-recoverable May 10, 1950.

A local aviation archaeology group attempted to excavate the crash site in 1974, to search for aircraft parts. A number of DPAA investigation and recovery efforts took place in 2017 and 2019, with a June 2021 recovery mission finding possible human remains and material evidence.

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

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

Montgomery will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on a date yet to be determined.

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

Machinist’s Mate Ralph A. Derrington

Press Release | March 13, 2023

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Derrington, R.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Chief Machinist’s Mate Ralph A. Derrington, 42, of Columbus, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 25, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Derrington 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 Derrington.

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 Derrington.

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

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

Derrington’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.

Derrington will be buried on June 20, 2023, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs Office at (901) 874-2438.

Aviation Ordnanceman First Class Anthony Di Petta

Press Release | March 10, 2023

Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Di Petta, A.)

WASHINGTON   –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman First Class Anthony Di Petta, 24, of Nutley, New Jersey, killed during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 3, 2023.

In the fall of 1944, Di Petta was the Aviation Ordnanceman assigned to the Navy Torpedo Squadron 20, USS Enterprise. On Sept. 10, Di Petta and two other crew members abroad the TBM-1C Avenger Bureau Number, 17018 took off from the USS Enterprise on a mission to conduct air strikes against enemy targets in Malakal Naval District, Palau Islands. Their aircraft was struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed into water near Malakal. Efforts to recover Di Petta’s remains were unsuccessful.

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 Palau, concluding their search in the summer of 1947. Investigators could not find any evidence of Di Petta or his aircraft. He was declared non-recoverable July 16, 1949.

From 2003 – 2018, the BentProp Project now known as Project Recover, and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) conducted six investigations resulted in the location of a site associated with the incident.

In May 2019, Ships of Exploration and Discovery Research, a DPAA partner organization excavated the site and recovered remains and material evidence.

In Sept. 2021, a subsequent excavation was completed by Project Recover, a nonprofit organization that works to search and recover missing Americans, where additional remains and material evidence were recovered.

Remains and material evidence were sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

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

Di Petta’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.

Di Petta will be buried in Wrightstown, New Jersey on July 11, 2023.

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs Office at (901) 874-2438.

Tech Sgt. Frank C. Ferrel

Press Release | March 8, 2023

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Ferrel, F.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Frank C. Ferrel, 31, of Roby, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 10, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Ferrel was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber Ferrel was an engineer 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 Ferrel’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis.. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Ferrel’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.

Ferrel will be buried in Sylvester, Texas on April 7, 2023.

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

Cpl. Clark E. Worline

Press Release | March 6, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Worline, C.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Clark E. Worline, 20, of Dupont, Ohio who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 9, 2022.

In the fall of 1950, Worline was a member of C Company, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion, 8th U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 26 after fighting against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near Sinjang, North Korea. While it is possible Worline was captured, there was no record or eyewitness accounts of him being held as a prisoner of war, though it was not unusual for prisoners who died to be unknown to other captives.

During Operation GLORY in the fall of 1954, 495 sets of remains from burial grounds around Prisoner of War Camp #5 were returned to United Nations Command. All but 38 were identified. Those remains were buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu in 1956.

In August 2019, during Phase 2 of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, X-14326 Operation GLORY was disinterred from the Punchbowl as part of the planned exhumation of Operation GLORY burials originating from Camp #5 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

To identify Worline’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.

Worline’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.

Worline will be buried in Dupont, Ohio on a date yet to be determined.

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

Pfc. William L. Simon

Press Release | March 6, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Simon, W.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. William L. Simon, 20, of Middleton, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was accounted for Nov. 29, 2022.

In November 1944, Simon was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported killed in action on Nov. 5. His remains could not be recovered during the battle.

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 Simons’s remains. He was declared nonrecoverable on Dec. 10, 1950.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5767 Neuville, recovered in a field south of Hürtgen in 1946 possibly belonged to Simon. 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 Simon’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 autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Simon’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.

Simon will be buried in Middleton, Wisconsin on a date yet to be determined.

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

Sgt. Thaddeus S. Matuszak

Press Release | March 6, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Matuszak, T.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Thaddeus S. Matuszak, 31, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 7, 2022.

In September 1944, Matuszak was assigned to Company K, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. They were part of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army and had been fighting across France that summer before being stopped by fierce German opposition at the Moselle River near Dornot. On the morning of Sept. 8, Matuszak’s unit was part of a larger force ordered to cross the river and take up a position in the woods on the east side. They dug their defensive positions in a curved line at the edge of the forest they called Horseshoe Woods. The force held their position against a relentless German attack, taking heavy losses, until Sept. 10, when another crossing of the Moselle was made. Only then were they allowed to retreat. That night and into the morning of Sept. 11 most of the Soldiers were able to retreat across the river, though some officers stayed behind to search the woods for the wounded or missing before recrossing the river. Matuszak was among the Soldiers reported missing that night. His body was unable to be recovered because of the fighting and German presence on east side of the river.

The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater following the war. Although some unknown remains were found in and around Horseshoe Woods, none were associated with Matuszak. AGRC continued operations along the banks of the Moselle until 1951. At that point, Matuszak was declared non-recoverable.

DPAA historians and archaeologists are conducting ongoing, comprehensive research on Soldiers missing from combat at Horseshoe Woods. During this research, one Unknown, X-75 Limey, was a candidate to match Matuszak. After extensive research and record comparison by DPAA historians and analysts, X-75 was disinterred in September 2018 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

To identify Matuszak’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.

Matuszak’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Matuszak will be buried in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a date yet to be determined.

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

Master Sgt. Merritt L. Wynn

Press Release | March 1, 2023

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Wynn, M.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Master Sgt. Merritt L. Wynn, 31, of St. Louis, Missouri, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 26, 2022.

In late 1950, Wynn was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 26, while during fighting with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces east of Unsan, North Korea. Wynn was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership and bravery that day. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, and there is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. Wynn was declared nonrecoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.

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 Wynn’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 Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Wynn’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.

Wynn will be buried in Centralia, Illinois, on a date yet to be determined.

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