Press Release | Oct. 29, 2019

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

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Herman R. Phy, 18, of Philadelphia, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for July 23, 2019.

(This identification was initially published on July 31, 2019.)

In the summer of 1953, Phy was an infantryman assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 17th Infantry Division. He was reported missing on July 6, 1953, when he could not be accounted for by his unit in the vicinity of Hill 255, Pork Chop Hill, North Korea.

In 1993, North Korea unilaterally turned over 33 boxes of remains as part of a larger group of 208 boxes, known as K-208. With that turnover, nine boxes were reported to have been recovered from Kundong-ni, Kimhwa County, Kangwon Province.

To identify Phy’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 autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

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

Today, 7,607 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams, or disinterred from unknown graves. Phy’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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

Phy’s funeral date and location have yet to be determined. For future funeral information, visit www.dpaa.mil.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.

Press Release | Oct. 29, 2019

Marine Accounted For From World War II (Benson, E.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Pvt. Edwin F. Benson, 22, of West Newton, Massachusetts, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 24, 2019.

(This identification was initially published Aug. 13, 2019.)

In November 1943, Benson was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Benson was killed on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. He was reported to have been buried in the East Division Cemetery, which was eventually renamed to Cemetery #33.

Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

Between 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but Benson’s remains were not identified. All of the remains found on Tarawa were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification in 1947. By 1949, the remains that had not been identified were interred as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, including one set, designated as Tarawa Unknown X-155.

On Jan. 30, 2017, DPAA disinterred Tarawa Unknown X-155 from the Punchbowl for identification.

To identify Benson’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.

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

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,648 service members still unaccounted for from World War II with approximately 30,000 assessed as possibly recoverable. Benson’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family information, call the Marine Corps Service Casualty Office at (800) 847-1597.

Benson will be buried Nov. 19, 2019, at Arlington National Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Press Release | Oct. 28, 2019

Marine Accounted for from Korean War (Fairchild, R.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Pfc. Ray P. Fairchild, 21, of Salyersville, Kentucky, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for July 29, 2019.

(This identification was initially published Oct. 3, 2019.)

In late 1950, Fairchild was a member of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was killed in action Nov. 27, 1950, near the town of Yudam-ni, west of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the war his remains could not be recovered.

In 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea and the United States Command exchanged the remains of casualties. One set of remains, designated Unknown X-13474 Yudam-ni could not be identified and were subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

On May 11, 2012, the Joint Personnel Accounting Command (a predecessor to DPAA) disinterred X-13474 Yunam-ni and accessioned the remains to the laboratory.

To identify Fairchild’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 autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the United States Marine Corps for their partnership in this mission.

Today, 7,607 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams, or disinterred from unknown graves. Fairchild’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family information, contact the Marine Corps Service Casualty Office at (800) 847-1597.

Fairchild will be buried Nov. 23, 2019, in his hometown.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.

Press Release | Oct. 25, 2019

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

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Henry L. Phillips, 18, of Giles, Tennessee, who was captured and died in captivity during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 17, 2019.

(This identification was initially published Sept. 19, 2019.)

In late 1950, Phillips was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Nov. 28, 1950, in the vicinity of Anju, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. Following the war, returning American prisoners of war reported that Phillips had been captured and died at Prisoner of War Camp #5, on March 17, 1951.

In September 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp 5, to the United Nations Command. One set of remains, Unknown X-13491, could not be identified and was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

On June 11, 2018, the Department of Defense disinterred Unknown X-13491 and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

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

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

Today, 7,607 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams or disinterred from unknown graves. Phillips’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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

The time and place for Phillips’ burial has yet to be determined. For future funeral information, visit www.dpaa.mil.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Press Release | Oct. 25, 2019

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Worthen, L.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. Lawrence E. Worthen, 20, of Santa Ana, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 23, 2019.

(This identification was initially published Aug. 9, 2019.)

In 1944, Worthen was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Sept. 17, 1944, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces near Wettlingen, Germany. His remains could not be recovered after the attack.

After the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC,) U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps was the unit tasked with investigation and recovery of missing American personnel. The AGRC collected thousands of unknown remains from across northern Europe. A mass grave of several 112th Infantry Soldiers had been found near Wettlingen, and most were identified through identification tags or personal effects. However two sets, processed through the American cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg, designated X-70 Hamm and X-71 Hamm, were declared unidentifiable, and subsequently buried in the Luxembourg American Cemetery as Unknowns.

In 2017, while studying American losses and unidentified remains recovered from combat around Wettlingen, Germany, a DPAA historian reviewed documents of X-71 Hamm, and determined that there were five unresolved American casualties who were last known to have been lost in combat near Wettlingen, including Worthen.

In April 2019, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission disinterred X-71 Hamm and accessioned the remains to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Worthen’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological analysis and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary- Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,648 service members still unaccounted for from World War II with approximately 30,000 assessed as possibly recoverable. Worthen’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 missing from WWII. Although interred as an Unknown, Worthen’s grave was meticulously cared for by ABMC for 70 years. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.For family information, contact the Army Service Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.

Worthen will be buried Oct. 25, 2019 in Boise, Idaho.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.