Press Release | April 19, 2022

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Hoffman, J.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Musician 1st Class Joseph W. Hoffman, 24, of Chillicothe, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 8, 2020.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Hoffman 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 Hoffman.

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, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Hoffman.

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

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

Hoffman’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.

Hoffman will be buried Aug. 20, 2022, in Greenfield, Ohio.

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.

Press Release | April 18, 2022

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Soileau, H.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pvt. Hillary Soileau, 23, of Bunkie, Louisiana, killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 8, 2020.

In January 1943, Soileau was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, when American forces went on the offensive to clear Guadalcanal of Japanese forces. Soileau was wounded on Jan. 14 during fighting on a group of hills nicknamed Galloping Horse. However, following the battle, he could not be found. After an extensive search of field hospitals, aid stations, and the battlefield, Soileau was declared missing in action on Feb. 3. He was officially declared killed in action on Dec. 13, 1945.

On Feb. 22, 1943, two unidentified bodies from the 27th Infantry Regiment, later designated Unknown X-50 Guadalcanal and Unknown X-52 Guadalcanal, recovered from the battlefield near the head of Galloping Horse, were buried at the Army, Navy, and Marine Cemetery on Guadalcanal. In December 1947 and January 1948, those buried at Guadalcanal cemeteries were exhumed and transported to Hawaii. Unknown X-50 was identified there, but X-52 was not and was subsequently buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

After thorough historical research, it was determined that X-52 was most likely Soileau. Unknown X-52 was disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

To identify Soileau’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.

Soileau’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, along with the others who are still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Soileau will be buried May 21, 2022, in Washington, Louisiana.

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

Press Release | April 14, 2022

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Tidball, D.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class David F. Tidball, 20, of Independence, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 3, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Tidball 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 Tidball.

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 Tidball.

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

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

Tidball’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.

Tidball will be buried on May 14, 2022, in his hometown.

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.

Press Release | April 7, 2022

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Nichols, H.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class Harry E. Nichols, 21, of Sioux City, Iowa, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 30, 2019.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Nichols 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 Nichols.

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 Nichols.

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

To identify Nichols’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Nichols’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.

Nichols will be buried May 13, 2022, in his hometown.

For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.

Press Release | March 31, 2022

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

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. William L. Groh, Jr., 22, of Tiffin, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 9, 2021.

In November 1944, Groh was assigned to Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive, near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported wounded in action on Nov. 13. This was also the last day his unit saw him. German forces never listed him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on Nov. 14, 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 conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Groh’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in September 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5437 Neuville, originally discovered by a German forester and recovered by the AGRC in 1947, possibly belonged to Groh. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

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

Groh’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, 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.

Groh will be buried in Phoenix, Arizona. The date has yet to be determined.

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