Three More Accounted For

Soldier Accounted For From Vietnam War (Zich, L.)

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 3 Larry A. Zich, 24, of Sturgis, South Dakota, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for Oct. 25, 2022.

In April 1972, Zich was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 37th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade. On April 3, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-16330, call sign “Cavalier 70”) with a crew of four, including Zich as the co-pilot. The crew departed from Marble Mountain, Da Nang, South Vietnam, on a combat support mission to Quang Tri City, South Vietnam. During the flight, the pilot told a Hue/Phu Bai Ground Control Approach (GCA) controller that he was lost, and believed they were near Quang Tri. Following the transmission, the GCA controller could not locate the helicopter on the radar, and reported the crew missing. When the helicopter failed to appear at any of the air bases in South Vietnam, an aerial search was initiated but found no sign of the missing aircraft or crew.

The Joint Casualty Resolution Center conducted a number of investigation and recovery efforts between 1993 and 2014; a total of twelve investigations were conducted into this loss with negative results. On April 11, 1988, the Defense Intelligence Agency received human remains from a Vietnamese refugee. Reportedly the remains belonged to nine different individuals who died in an aircraft crash and were buried in Quang Nam Province. Those remains were sent to Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii that same month.

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

Zich will be buried in Lincoln, Nebraska on a date yet to be determined.

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Knoll, G.)

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Gregory V. Knoll 22, of Garden City, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 3, 2023.

In November 1944, Knoll was assigned to Company M, 3rd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His battalion had been tasked with capturing the town of Schmidt, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest. A heavy German counterattack overran his unit and forces survivors to withdraw to Kommerscheidt where they fought against additional enemy attacks. He was reported killed in action on Nov. 7., while fighting enemy forces at Kommerscheidt. His remains could not be recovered after the attack.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command 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 Knoll’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in November 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2519 Neuville, recovered at Kommerscheidt in April 1946, possibly belonged to Knoll. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, in 1949, were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

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

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

Knoll will be buried on July 7, 2023 in Garden City, Kansas.

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Williams, M.)

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pvt. Myron E. Williams, 29, of Dixon, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 13, 2022.

In November 1944, Williams was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported missing in action on Nov. 16. His body unable to be recovered, and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death for Williams on Nov. 17, 1945.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command 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 Williams’ 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-5432 Neuville, recovered Germeter and Hürtgen possibly belonged to Williams. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, in 1949, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification. While analyzing X-5432, DPAA scientists also examined X-5405 Neuville, which had been found only 20 yards from X-5432 in 1947, and discovered comingling between the two.

To identify Williams’ 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) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Williams’ 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.

Williams will be buried in Killeen, Texas on a date yet to be determined.

Category: No Longer Missing