Technical Sgt. Lynn M. Farnham

Press Release | Sept. 12, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Farnham, L.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Technical Sgt. Lynn M. Farnham, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 31, 2024.

In early 1944, Farnham was assigned to the 346th Bombardment Squadron, 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force in the European Theater. On Feb 25, Farnham, the flight engineer onboard a B-17G “Flying Fortress”, was killed in action when his plane was shot down by enemy fighter aircraft fire while on a bombing mission to Regensburg, Germany. Eight of the ten crewmembers bailed out of the aircraft which crash outside of Langquaid, Germany. They reported seeing Farnham and another crewman dead near the co-pilots seat. Farnham’s body was not immediately recovered, and a report of death was finally issued on Aug. 10, 1945.

Sgt. 1st Class Walter A. Ross Jr.

Press Release | Sept. 12, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Ross, W.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Walter A. Ross Jr., killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 7, 2024.

In early 1951, Ross was a member of Love Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action after his unit engaged in combat actions with the North Korean People’s Army near Sang-nok, South Korea, on Feb. 14, 1951. U.S. defensive positions were attacked and overrun, and Ross was not immediately accounted for.

Sgt. Charles E. Beaty

Press Release | Sept. 10, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Beaty, C.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Sgt. Charles E. Beaty, 26, of Lake City, Arkansas, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Apr. 5, 2024.

In late 1950, Beaty was a member of Item Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 3, after his unit was attacked by Chinese People’s Volunteer Army forces as they attempted to withdraw to the town of Hagaru-ri near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, Beaty’s remains could not be recovered and he was reported Missing In Action. The exact circumstances of his loss were unknown.

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 Beaty’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and mitochondrial genome sequencing (mtG) analysis.

Beaty’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.

Beaty will be buried in Lake City, Arkansas, on a date to be determined.

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

Staff Sgt. John A. Tarber

Press Release | Sept. 10, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Tarbert, J.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. John A. Tarbert, 24, of Port Deposit, Maryland, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 10, 2024.

In late 1944, Tarbert was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Sept. 27, Tarbert, a waist gunner onboard the B-24J Liberator Mairzy Doats, was killed in action when his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire over Bassenheim, Germany. None of the six surviving crewmembers reported seeing Tarbert successfully bail out of the crashing plane, which landed in a local hill called Karmelenberg near the towns of Ochtendung and Bassenheim, Germany. After the war, there was no record of the missing crewmembers being taken as POWs by German forces. The three crewmembers, including Tarbert, remained unaccounted for following the war.

In February 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, recovered unidentified remains recovered from the Bassenheim Cemetery. These remains, X-2360 Margraten (X-2360), were reportedly removed from an aircraft crash by villagers after a crash in late Sept. 1944.

Later, in 1951, a team visited the crash site and recovered remains from the crater, designated X-9048 Liege (X-9048). At the time, an identification of X-2360 was made for the missing Mairzy Doats tail gunner. Identification of the other remains was not possible, and they were transferred to what is now the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage, Tunisia.

DPAA historians determined a strong possible connection between X-9048 and Tarbert was possible. In Sept. 2022, Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission personnel, exhumed X-9048 from the North African American Cemetery and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis and identification.

Also in Sept. 2022, DPAA sent an investigation team, which included Army Geospatial Center personnel, to investigate a crash site outside Bassenheim believed to be that of Mairzy Doats. Remains recovered from the crash site were sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis and identification.

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

Tarbert’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Tarbert will be buried in Schuylerville, New York, on Nov. 8, 2024.

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

Sgt. 1st Class Israel Ramos

Press Release | Sept. 10, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Ramos, I.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Israel Ramos, 18, of Calverton, New York, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for May 2, 2024.

In August 1950, Ramos was a member of D Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in combat actions with the enemy along the Naktong River in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, on Aug. 31. Due to intense fighting in the area, his body could not be recovered at that time. The exact circumstances of his death were unknown, and the U.S. Army determined him to be nonrecoverable on Jan. 16, 1956.

In December 1950, members from the 565th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company located and recovered six sets of remains from the east side of Hill 311, roughly one mile northwest of Chilhyeon-ri village. Of the six remains, two soldiers were identified, while the remaining designated X-326 thru X-329 were interred in the Miryang United Nations Memorial Cemetery. The remains were reexamined in 1955 and all but X-328 were identified. The remains were subsequently buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In June 2021, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-328 and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

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

Ramos’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.

Ramos will be buried in Calverton, New York, on Oct. 11, 2024.

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

Private 1st Class Charles A. Vorel Jr.

Press Release | Sept. 10, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Vorel, C.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Private 1st Class Charles A. Vorel Jr., 19, of Omaha, Nebraska, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for April 22, 2024.

In July 1950, Vorel was a member of Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 16 while participating in combat actions against the North Korean People’s Army along the Kum River north of Taejon, South Korea. He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that could be identified as Vorel. He was declared non-recoverable in January 1956.

On October 6, 1950, a set of remains was recovered near the Kum River and interred at the United Nations Military Cemetery, in Taejon. Evidence strongly suggested the remains belonged to an individual who died during the evacuation of Taejon, however investigators could not make a scientific identification. Those remains were designated Unknown X-114 Taejon and were later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In July 2018, DPAA historians and anthropologists proposed a plan to disinter and identify the 652 Korean War unknown burials from the Punchbowl. Unknown X-114 was disinterred July 1, 2019, as part of Phase 1 of the Korean War Identification Project and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory.

To identify Vorel’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.

Vorel’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monument Commission’s 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.

Vorel will be buried in Omaha, Nebraska, on Oct. 18, 2024.

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

Private 1st Class Joseph C. MacDonald

Press Release | Sept. 9, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (MacDonald, J.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private 1st Class Joseph C. MacDonald, 20, of Avenal, California, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for July 19, 2024.

In November 1942, MacDonald was a member of the 60th Coast Artillery Regiment, U.S. Army, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands later 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.  MacDonald was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. These prisoners were then taken to the Cabanatuan POW Camp, northeast of Manila.

According to prison camp and other historical records, MacDonald died December 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 721.

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. Various sets of remains from Common Grave 721 were identified, but the remaining were declared unidentifiable, including those of MacDonald. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In June 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 721 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

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

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, MacDonald’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

MacDonald will be buried at sea, on a date to be determined.

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

Pvt. Robert L. Skaar

Press Release | Sept. 5, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Skaar, R.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Robert L. Skaar, 18, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 7, 2024.

In early 1945, Skaar was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division. On March 10, Skaar was killed in action while his unit was on patrol near Wildenguth, France. The Germans never reported Skaar as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not immediately recovered.

Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Wildenguth. None of the investigations uncovered any leads regarding the disposition of Skaar’s remains. Consequently, he was declared non-recoverable on March 12, 1951.

DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Wildenguth. and found that X-5726 Neuville (X-5726), buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neupré, Belgium, could be associated with Skaar. X-5726 was disinterred in August 2022 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.

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

Skaar’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Skaar will be buried on October 1, 2024, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

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

Private 1st Class Robert J. Wright Jr

Press Release | Sept. 5, 2024

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Wright, R.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Private 1st Class Robert J. Wright Jr, 20, of Hollybrook, Virginia, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for Apr. 28, 2023.

In late 1950, Wright was a member of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea, on Nov. 30, following the Battle of Ch’ongch’on. In 1953, two POWs who returned during Operation Big Switch reported Wright had been a prisoner of war and died in March 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5.

In the late summer and fall of 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. None were associated with Wright.

One set of remains disinterred from Camp #5 returned during Operation Glory was designated Unknown X-14717 and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. In August 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14717 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

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

Wright’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s 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.

Wright will be buried in Hollybrook, Virginia, on a date to be determined.

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

Sergeant Henry H. Packard

Press Release | Sept. 3, 2024

Airman Accounted for from WWII (Packard, H.)

Washington  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Sergeant Henry H. Packard, 34, of Plymouth, New Hampshire, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for November 30, 2023.

In summer 1942, Packard was a member of the Chemical Warfare Service, U.S. Army, 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.  Packard 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, Packard died September 17, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 445.

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. Four sets of remains from Common Grave 445 were identified, but the remaining two were declared unidentifiable, including those of Sgt. Packard. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In early 2019, the remains associated with Common Grave 445 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Packard’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).

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Packard’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).

Packard will be buried in Plymouth, New Hampshire, on a date to be determined.

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