Airman Accounted For From World War II (Weekley, P.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Pharis E. Weekley, 21, of Bradley Junction, Florida, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 12, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Weekley was assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Weekley was serving as 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 Weekley’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 DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Weekley’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.
Weekley will be buried in Avon Park, Florida on May 20, 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 02:11:172025-04-04 02:11:182nd Lt. Pharis E. Weekley
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Stott, D.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class Donald A. Stott, 19, of Monticello, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 26, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Stott 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 Stott.
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 Stott.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Stott’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Stott’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.
Stott will be buried on March 25, 2023, in Monticello, Iowa.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service 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 02:10:422025-04-04 02:10:43Seaman 1st Class Donald A. Stott
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Charles W. Eeds, 23, of Durant, Oklahoma, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Oct. 25, 2022.
In late 1941, Eeds was a member of the 48th Materiel 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. Eeds 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, Eeds died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.
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. Twelve of the sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In January 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Eeds’ 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) and dental analysis.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Eeds’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Eeds will be buried May 19, 2023, in Norman, Oklahoma.
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 02:10:052025-04-04 02:10:07Cpl. Charles W. Eeds
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Porter M. Pile, 24, of Harlingen, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Nov. 28, 2022.
In September 1944, Pile was assigned to 700th Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 2d Air Division, 8th Air Force. On Sept. 27, the B-24H Liberator bomber on which he was serving as the navigator was part of a large mission to bomb the industrial city Kassel in northern Hesse, Germany. During the mission the formation of aircraft encountered heavy resistance from enemy ground and air forces, which resulted in the rapid loss of 25 Liberators. Several of the crew aboard Pile’s aircraft were able to bail out, and witnesses who survived did not report seeing him escape the aircraft. Six of the nine crew members were killed. His body was not recovered and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a finding of death on Sept. 28, 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They discovered the Liberator crash site outside of Richelsdorf, Germany. An identification tag for one of the missing crew members was discovered at this site, but there was no trace of 2nd Lt Pile.
In 2007, a German citizen led a team from what is now DPAA to the crash location of 2nd Lt Pile’s airplane, near the town of Richelsdorf, Germany. In 2009, another investigation team located items at that site, including parachute fabric and other debris, that led them to recommend the site for excavation. From 2015-2016, three recovery missions, led by DPAA archaeologists, excavated the crash site and recovered a data plate correlated to 2nd Lt Pile’s airplane; an identification tag for another member of 2nd Lt Pile’s crew; and remains that have been identified as those of 2nd Lt Pile.
To identify Pile’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) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Pile’s name is recorded on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in England, 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.
Pile will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on Oct. 31,2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
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USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Goggin, D.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Warrant Officer Machinist Daryl H. Goggin, 34, of Everett, Washington killed during World War II, was accounted for on Oct. 10, 2015.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Goggin 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 Goggin.
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 Goggin.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Goggin’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis.
Goggin’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.
Goggin will be buried on Aug. 18, 2023 at the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service 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 02:08:562025-04-04 02:08:58Warrant Officer Machinist Daryl H. Goggin
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Christie, A.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Alton Christie, 18, of Jasper, Florida killed during the Korean War, was accounted for July 28, 2022.
In July 1950, Christie was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 5 after his unit has been engaged by the Korean People’s Army near Osan, South Korea. There is no indication his remains were recovered after the battle and he was never recorded as a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953, and his remains were determined to be nonrecoverable in January 1956.
In October 1950, 20 sets of remains were recovered near Osan. Seven were interred as Unknowns. One set of remains, designated X-214 Taejon, was thought to be Christie, but investigators at the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan didn’t have enough identifying data to positively ID the remains. X-214 was later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as an Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In December 2014, Christie’s next of kin contacted the Army and requested the disinterment of X-214 as a potential association with Christie. The remains were disinterred on March 7, 2016, and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii for analysis.
To identify Christie’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.
Christie’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.
Christie will be buried in Jasper, Florida on a date yet to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Whatley, I.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Ithiel E. Whatley, 19, of Pensacola, Florida, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 7, 2022.
In the summer of 1950, Whatley was a member of M Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 12 after this unit was engaged in a fighting withdrawal south of Chochi’won, South Korea, towards the Kum River. While it is possible Whatley was captured, there was no record or eyewitness accounts of him being held as a prisoner of war, and no recovered remains were ever identified as him. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Jan. 4, 1954 and declared Whatley non-recoverable in January 1956.
On Oct. 6, 1950, a set of remains, designated X-143 Taejon, was recovered from the Kum River and transported to the United Nations Military Cemetery Taejon, where they were buried with 164 sets of remains previously recovered from the area where Whatley is believed to have gone missing. X-143 was sent with other unidentified remains to the Central Identification Unit – Kokura in Japan in 1951, but was unable to be identified. They were then transported to Hawaii in 1956 where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as Punchbowl Cemetery, with the other Unknowns from the Korean War.
In July 2019, during Phase 2 of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, X-143 Taejon was disinterred from the Punchbowl and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Whatley’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.
Whatley’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.
Whatley will be buried on a date not yet determined, in Pensacola, Florida.
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 02:07:532025-04-04 02:07:55Pfc. Ithiel E. Whatley
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Garrigus, C.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Garrigus, 24, of Terra Haute, Indiana, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 2, 2022.
In late 1950, Garrigus was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 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 Garrigus’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), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Garrigus’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.
Garrigus will be buried in Greenwood, Indiana, on date yet 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 02:07:142025-04-04 02:07:15Sgt. Charles Garrigus
Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Schrader, F.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Navy Cmdr. Frederick R. Schrader, 31, of Lawrenceville, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 27, 2022.
In October 1944, Schrader was the commander of Carrier Air Group Eleven on the USS Hornet. The Hornet was one of 17 aircraft carriers to take part in the Battle of Formosa Oct. 12-15. On Oct. 13, Schrader’s F6F-5 Hellcat fighter was shot down during an attack on Toko Seaplane Base on Formosa, now know as Taiwan. His wingman never saw a parachute or any evidence Schrader was able to exit the aircraft before it crashed. No rescue attempt was possible because the crash happened in enemy territory.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater. They searched Formosa for one year, but none of the remains they recovered could be identified as Schrader. He was declared non-recoverable in 1949.
In April 2019, DPAA was contacted by Matthew Robins, an independent researcher and former Naval flight officer. His research pointed to a possible correlation between Schrader and X-136 Schofield, a WWII Unknown recovered from Formosa and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. Further research by DPAA analysts found more evidence linking the two. X-136 was disinterred from the Punchbowl on Aug. 11, 2022, and taken to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Schrader’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence.
Schrader’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 the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
DPAA is grateful to Matthew Robins for his assistance in this mission.
Schrader will be buried April 13, 2023 at the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, call 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 02:06:472025-04-04 02:06:48Cmdr. Frederick R. Schrader
Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Bennett, F.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Franklin H. Bennett, 20, of Glendive, Montana, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 24, 2022.
In late 1941, Bennett was a member of the 54th Signal Maintenance Company, 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. Bennett 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, Bennett died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.
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. Twelve sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In early 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Bennett’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.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Bennett’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Bennett will be buried on a date yet to be determined, in Pensacola, Florida.
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 02:06:202025-04-04 02:06:22Cpl. Franklin H. Bennett
2nd Lt. Pharis E. Weekley
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Feb. 27, 2023
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Weekley, P.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Pharis E. Weekley, 21, of Bradley Junction, Florida, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 12, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Weekley was assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Weekley was serving as 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 Weekley’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 DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Weekley’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.
Weekley will be buried in Avon Park, Florida on May 20, 2023
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Seaman 1st Class Donald A. Stott
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Feb. 8, 2023
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Stott, D.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class Donald A. Stott, 19, of Monticello, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 26, 2021.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Stott 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 Stott.
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 Stott.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Stott’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Stott’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.
Stott will be buried on March 25, 2023, in Monticello, Iowa.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
Cpl. Charles W. Eeds
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Feb. 6, 2023
Airman Accounted For From WWII (Eeds, C.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Charles W. Eeds, 23, of Durant, Oklahoma, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Oct. 25, 2022.
In late 1941, Eeds was a member of the 48th Materiel 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. Eeds 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, Eeds died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.
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. Twelve of the sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In January 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Eeds’ 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) and dental analysis.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Eeds’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Eeds will be buried May 19, 2023, in Norman, Oklahoma.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
2nd Lt. Porter M. Pile
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 30, 2023
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Pile, P.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Porter M. Pile, 24, of Harlingen, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Nov. 28, 2022.
In September 1944, Pile was assigned to 700th Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 2d Air Division, 8th Air Force. On Sept. 27, the B-24H Liberator bomber on which he was serving as the navigator was part of a large mission to bomb the industrial city Kassel in northern Hesse, Germany. During the mission the formation of aircraft encountered heavy resistance from enemy ground and air forces, which resulted in the rapid loss of 25 Liberators. Several of the crew aboard Pile’s aircraft were able to bail out, and witnesses who survived did not report seeing him escape the aircraft. Six of the nine crew members were killed. His body was not recovered and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a finding of death on Sept. 28, 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They discovered the Liberator crash site outside of Richelsdorf, Germany. An identification tag for one of the missing crew members was discovered at this site, but there was no trace of 2nd Lt Pile.
In 2007, a German citizen led a team from what is now DPAA to the crash location of 2nd Lt Pile’s airplane, near the town of Richelsdorf, Germany. In 2009, another investigation team located items at that site, including parachute fabric and other debris, that led them to recommend the site for excavation. From 2015-2016, three recovery missions, led by DPAA archaeologists, excavated the crash site and recovered a data plate correlated to 2nd Lt Pile’s airplane; an identification tag for another member of 2nd Lt Pile’s crew; and remains that have been identified as those of 2nd Lt Pile.
To identify Pile’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) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Pile’s name is recorded on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in England, 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.
Pile will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on Oct. 31,2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Warrant Officer Machinist Daryl H. Goggin
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 30, 2023
USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Goggin, D.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Warrant Officer Machinist Daryl H. Goggin, 34, of Everett, Washington killed during World War II, was accounted for on Oct. 10, 2015.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Goggin 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 Goggin.
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 Goggin.
Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Goggin’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis.
Goggin’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.
Goggin will be buried on Aug. 18, 2023 at the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
Cpl. Alton Christie
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 20, 2023
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Christie, A.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Alton Christie, 18, of Jasper, Florida killed during the Korean War, was accounted for July 28, 2022.
In July 1950, Christie was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 5 after his unit has been engaged by the Korean People’s Army near Osan, South Korea. There is no indication his remains were recovered after the battle and he was never recorded as a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953, and his remains were determined to be nonrecoverable in January 1956.
In October 1950, 20 sets of remains were recovered near Osan. Seven were interred as Unknowns. One set of remains, designated X-214 Taejon, was thought to be Christie, but investigators at the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan didn’t have enough identifying data to positively ID the remains. X-214 was later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as an Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In December 2014, Christie’s next of kin contacted the Army and requested the disinterment of X-214 as a potential association with Christie. The remains were disinterred on March 7, 2016, and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii for analysis.
To identify Christie’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.
Christie’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.
Christie will be buried in Jasper, Florida on a date yet to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Pfc. Ithiel E. Whatley
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 20, 2023
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Whatley, I.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Ithiel E. Whatley, 19, of Pensacola, Florida, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 7, 2022.
In the summer of 1950, Whatley was a member of M Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 12 after this unit was engaged in a fighting withdrawal south of Chochi’won, South Korea, towards the Kum River. While it is possible Whatley was captured, there was no record or eyewitness accounts of him being held as a prisoner of war, and no recovered remains were ever identified as him. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Jan. 4, 1954 and declared Whatley non-recoverable in January 1956.
On Oct. 6, 1950, a set of remains, designated X-143 Taejon, was recovered from the Kum River and transported to the United Nations Military Cemetery Taejon, where they were buried with 164 sets of remains previously recovered from the area where Whatley is believed to have gone missing. X-143 was sent with other unidentified remains to the Central Identification Unit – Kokura in Japan in 1951, but was unable to be identified. They were then transported to Hawaii in 1956 where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as Punchbowl Cemetery, with the other Unknowns from the Korean War.
In July 2019, during Phase 2 of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, X-143 Taejon was disinterred from the Punchbowl and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Whatley’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.
Whatley’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.
Whatley will be buried on a date not yet determined, in Pensacola, Florida.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Sgt. Charles Garrigus
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 20, 2023
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Garrigus, C.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Garrigus, 24, of Terra Haute, Indiana, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 2, 2022.
In late 1950, Garrigus was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 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 Garrigus’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), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Garrigus’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.
Garrigus will be buried in Greenwood, Indiana, on date yet to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Cmdr. Frederick R. Schrader
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 20, 2023
Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Schrader, F.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Navy Cmdr. Frederick R. Schrader, 31, of Lawrenceville, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 27, 2022.
In October 1944, Schrader was the commander of Carrier Air Group Eleven on the USS Hornet. The Hornet was one of 17 aircraft carriers to take part in the Battle of Formosa Oct. 12-15. On Oct. 13, Schrader’s F6F-5 Hellcat fighter was shot down during an attack on Toko Seaplane Base on Formosa, now know as Taiwan. His wingman never saw a parachute or any evidence Schrader was able to exit the aircraft before it crashed. No rescue attempt was possible because the crash happened in enemy territory.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater. They searched Formosa for one year, but none of the remains they recovered could be identified as Schrader. He was declared non-recoverable in 1949.
In April 2019, DPAA was contacted by Matthew Robins, an independent researcher and former Naval flight officer. His research pointed to a possible correlation between Schrader and X-136 Schofield, a WWII Unknown recovered from Formosa and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. Further research by DPAA analysts found more evidence linking the two. X-136 was disinterred from the Punchbowl on Aug. 11, 2022, and taken to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Schrader’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence.
Schrader’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 the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
DPAA is grateful to Matthew Robins for his assistance in this mission.
Schrader will be buried April 13, 2023 at the Punchbowl.
For family and funeral information, call the Navy Casualty Office at (800) 443-9298.
Cpl. Franklin H. Bennett
Recently IdentifiedPress Release | Jan. 20, 2023
Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Bennett, F.)
WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Franklin H. Bennett, 20, of Glendive, Montana, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 24, 2022.
In late 1941, Bennett was a member of the 54th Signal Maintenance Company, 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. Bennett 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, Bennett died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.
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. Twelve sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the rest were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In early 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.
To identify Bennett’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.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Bennett’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Bennett will be buried on a date yet to be determined, in Pensacola, Florida.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.