Press Release | Oct. 20, 2021

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Mabine, O.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Mess Attendant 1st Class Octavius Mabine, 21, of Portsmouth, Virginia, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Nov. 24, 2020.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Mabine 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 Mabine.

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 Mabine.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
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To identify Mabine’s remains, scientists from DPAA anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Mabine’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.

Mabine will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be decided.

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

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Navy for their partnership in this mission.

Press Release | Oct. 19, 2021

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Schwartz, E.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pvt. Emmet W. Schwartz, 24, of Dover, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 9, 2021.

In December 1944, Schwartz was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. His unit was part of an effort to capture Obermaubach, Germany, near the town of Hürtgen, when he was reported killed in action by an artillery blast on Dec. 27. His body was unable to be recovered.

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 Schwartz’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-7173 St. Avold, originally recovered from a foxhole near Obermaubach by the AGRC in 1946, possibly belonged to Schwartz. The remains, which had been buried in Rhône American Cemetery in Draguignan, France, were disinterred in June 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

To identify Schwartz’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.

Schwartz’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, 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.

Schwartz will be buried Nov. 18, 2021, in New Philadelphia, Ohio.

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

Press Release | Oct. 18, 2021

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

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Staff Sgt. William R. Linder, 30, of Piedmont, South Carolina, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 23, 2021.

In late 1944, Linder was assigned to Company E, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the Hürtgen Forest offensive, near Hürtgen, Germany, when he was reported missing in action on Nov. 16. German forces never listed him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on Nov. 17, 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 Linder’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-5431 Neuville, originally discovered by local residents shortly after a forest fire swept through the area in 1947, possibly belonged to Linder. 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 Linder’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) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

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

Linder will be buried Oct. 29, 2021, in Anderson, South Carolina.

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

Press Release | Oct. 8, 2021

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Saunders, C.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Charles L. Saunders, 18, of Winnie, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Feb. 11, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Saunders 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 Saunders.

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 Saunders.

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

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

Saunders’ 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.

Saunders will be buried Dec. 7, 2021, in his hometown.

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

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Navy for their partnership in this mission.

Press Release | Oct. 5, 2021

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

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Francis W. Wiemerslage, 20, of River Grove, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Aug. 24, 2021.

In March 1945, Wiemerslage was assigned to the 549th Bombardment Squadron, 385th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, serving in Germany. He was the ball turret gunner on a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during a bombing mission over Dresden, on March 2. Enemy fighters attacked the bomber between Berlin and Leipzig, and the plane was shot down. Two of the nine crew members survived the incident, while the rest, including Wiemerslage, were killed. Seven men were reportedly recovered from the wreckage and buried near Züllsdorf. After the war ended, there was no evidence of Wiemerslage being a prisoner of war or having survived, so a Finding of Death was issued a year after the crash.

The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was charged with recovering the remains of fallen service members in the European Theater following the war. During a series of investigations of the Züllsdorf area between 1947 and 1949, the remains of all of the airmen who died in the B-17 crash, except for Wiemerslage, were found and identified. After 1950, worsening diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, who controlled this part of Germany at the time, prevented the AGRC from investigating further. In November 1953, two German citizens conducted another search of the area on behalf of the AGRC, finding some bones, including the jaw with some teeth, and part of a wallet. However, it does not appear any further evidence was found. Wiermerslage’s records from the time indicate the dental record was favorable and the wallet bore the initials “F.W.” In March 1954, the remains were interred, to be held until the recovery of additional remains could be completed.

In June 2019, DPAA contracted Western Carolina University to excavate several possible locations around the area of Züllsdorf where the remains and wallet were found in the 1950s. Possible osseous material and possible material evidence was found and initially transferred to the Brandenburg Institute for Forensic Medicine before being sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for scientific analysis.

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

Wiemerslage’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the 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.

Wiemerslage will be buried in his hometown on Oct. 23, 2021.

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