Press Release | April 15, 2025

Soldier Accounted For From WWII (Hennessey, H.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Harland J. Hennessey, 24, of Boonville, New York, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 23, 2024.

Hennessey’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In late 1941, Hennessey was a member of the 803rd Engineer Battalion, Aviation, 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. Hennessey 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 #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Hennessey died Nov. 1, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 704.

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. Two of the sets of remains from Common Grave 704 were identified, while the remaining eight were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 704 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.      

To identify Hennessey’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 and mitochondrial genome sequence analysis.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Hennessey’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Today, Hennessey is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Hennessey will be buried in Boonville, New York, in July 2025.

Press Release | April 14, 2025

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Solomon, L.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. 1^st Class Leslie H. Solomon, 29, killed in action during the Korean War, was accounted for April 1, 2025.

In December 1950, Solomon was assigned to Headquarters and Battery D, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2 when his convoy was ambushed by enemy forces while in route to the vicinity of Hagaru-ri near the Jangjin (Chosin) Reservoir, Republic of Korea. The U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953, and on Jan. 6, 1956, he was declared non-recoverable.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Solomon’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.

Press Release | April 14, 2025

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Hathaway, A.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Andrew E. Hathaway, 18, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for April 3, 2025.

In late 1950, Hathaway was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reportedly killed on Nov. 28, after the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River, Republic of Korea. Returning POWs reported that Hathaway was held at Camp 5 in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died on an unknown date.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Hathaway’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.

Press Release | April 8, 2025

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Nordyke, E.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Elwyn Dean Nordyke, 22, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for March 10, 2025. 

Late November 1950, Sgt. Nordyke was assigned to Medical Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 28 in the vicinity of the Jangjin (Chosin) Reservoir, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, when his convoy was ambushed by opposing forces. It was later determined that Sgt. Nordyke was held at Camp 1 in Changsong, North Korea, where he died in captivity in the summer of 1951.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Nordyke’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.

Press Release | April 7, 2025

Marine Accounted For From WWII (Newstrom, J.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. John H. Newstrom, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 28, 2025.

In the fall of 1944, Newstrom was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On Sept. 28, Newstrom was killed by sniper fire while attempting to clear a cave near northeastern Peleliu, Republic of Palau. At the time, other Marines in his unit were unable to recover his remains and postwar recovery efforts were unsuccessful. Newstrom was declared non-recoverable in 1949.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Newstrom’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.