Six More Return

Per DPAA’s “Recently Accounted For” webpage, the following formerly-missing US personnel were recently publicly announced as having been accounted for.

From World War II

WT1c Charles E. Hudson, US Navy, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. His accounting was announced on 20 April 2021.

F1c Kenneth E. Doernenburg, US Navy, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. His accounting was announced on 21 April 2021.

S1c Walter C. Stein, US Navy, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. His accounting was announced on 21 April 2021.

Mus2c Lloyd P. Wiegand, US Navy, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. His accounting was announced on 23 April 2021.

2nd Lt Ernest N. Vienneau, US Army, assigned to 340th Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force, US Army Air Forces, was lost on Vis Island, Croatia, on 6 November 1944. His accounting was announced on 20 April 2021.

From Korea

PFC Philip T. Hoogacker, US Army, assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, was lost at Anui, South Korea, on 27 July 1950. His accounting was announced on 19 April 2021.

From Southeast Asia

None

Welcome back, elder brothers-in-arms. Our apologies that your return took so long.

Rest easy. You’re home now.

. . .

Over 72,000 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,500 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,500 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia (SEA). Additionally, 126 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Cold War; 5 remain unaccounted for from the Gulf Wars; and 1 individual remains unaccounted for from Operation Eldorado Canyon.

Comparison of DNA from recovered remains against DNA from some (but not all) blood relatives can assist in making a positive ID for unidentified remains that have already been recovered, or which may be recovered in the future. On their web site’s Contact Us page DPAA now has FAQs. One of those FAQs describes who can and cannot submit DNA samples useful in identifying recovered remains. The chart giving the answer can be viewed here. The text associated with the chart is short and is found in one of the FAQs.

If your family lost someone in one of these conflicts who has not yet been accounted for and you qualify to submit a DNA sample, please arrange to submit one. By doing that you just might help identify the remains of a US service member who’s been repatriated but not yet been identified – as well as a relative of yours, however distant. Or you may help to identify remains to be recovered in the future.

Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all while serving this nation.

Category: No Longer Missing