Two More Accounted For

Defense MIA/POW Accounting Agency

Airman Accounted For From World War II

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Robert C. Elliott

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Robert C. Elliott, 24, of Plains, Kansas, killed during World War II.

In the summer of 1943, Elliott was assigned to the 343^rd Bombardment Squadron, 98^th Bombardment Group, 9^th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the aircraft on which Elliot worked as an assistant engineer, was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. Elliott’s remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

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

Elliott’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Elliott will be buried in Plains, Kansas on Aug. 1, 2023.

 

Tanker Accounted For From World War II

U.S. Army Cpl. Joe A. Vinyard

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Joe A. Vinyard, 23, of Loudon County, Tennessee, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 9, 2022.

In December 1944, Vinyard was assigned to Company A, 774^th Tank Battalion, as a crewmember on an M4 Sherman tank. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Gey, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when his tank was hit by an 88-mm round. The crew bailed out of the tank, but when they regrouped a few minutes later, Vinyard was missing. One of the other crewmen reported seeing Vinyard exit the tank, but, even after several days, no one could find him. Two later inspections of the destroyed tank reported finding no remains inside. The Germans never reported Vinyard as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death in April 1946.

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. In the fall of 1947, remains were found in two destroyed tanks in or near Gey. However, they could not be identified. Vinyard was declared non-recoverable in December 1950.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-6669 Neuville, recovered from one of the burned-out tanks in Gey possibly belonged to Vinyard. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

To identify Vinyard’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.

Vinyard’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, 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.

Vinyard will be buried in Maryville, Tennessee on a date yet to be determined.

Category: No Longer Missing