Four More Accounted For

Defense MIA/POW Accounting Agency

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War

U.S. Army Sgt. Howard G. Malcolm

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Howard G. Malcolm, 23, of Mount Vernon, Illinois, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for Oct. 25, 2022.

In late 1950, Malcolm was a member of Headquarters Company, Ninth Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, in North Korea. In 1953, several POWs returned during Operation Big Switch reported Malcolm had been a prisoner of war and died in August 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. However, Malcolm’s name did not appear on any of the transfer rosters and the Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan, did not associate any repatriated remains with him. Malcolm was determined non-recoverable in October 1955.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In August 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14357, a set of remains returned during Operation Glory, as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Malcolm’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.

Malcolm’s name is recorded on the 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.

Malcolm was buried in Mount Vernon, Illinois, on July 11, 2023.

Soldier Accounted For From World War II

U.S. Army Pfc. Clinton P. Koloski

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Clinton P. Koloski, 21, of City Point, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 12, 2022.

In January 1945, Koloski was assigned to Company A, 36^th Engineer Combat Regiment. On Jan. 14, the unit was on patrol near Obermuhlthal, France, when it encountered German soldiers in fortified positions. At some point during the fighting, Koloski was killed, but historical records do not indicate exactly where. Due to the fighting, his body was unable to be immediately recovered.

Beginning in 1947, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Obermuhlthal, finding the remains of an American Soldier near remains of another 36^th Engineer Combat Regiment Soldier who was killed the same day as Koloski. These remains, designated X-4890, were tentatively associated with Koloski, but an AGRC investigator believed the dental association between Koloski and the remains was questionable, so X-4890 was buried as an Unknown at what is today Rhône American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site near Draguignan, France, in October 1951.

In 2006 and 2007, Koloski’s identification tags were found in the forest near Obermuhlthal and reported to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), a DPAA predecessor organization. JPAC sent an investigation team to the site in October 2009 and DPAA sent a recovery team in April 2016, but no other evidence associated with Koloski was found.

DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Obermuhlthal, and found that X-4890 could be associated with Koloski based on where the remains and ID tags were recovered. X-6373 was disinterred in February 2020 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

To identify Koloski’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material and 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.

Koloski’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site 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.

Koloski was buried on June 30, 2023, in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Pilot Accounted For From Vietnam War

U.S. Air Force Colonel Ernest L. De Soto

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Air Force Colonel Ernest L. De Soto, 37, of San Francisco, California, reported missing during the Vietnam War, was accounted for March 23, 2023.

On April 12, 1969, Lt. Col. De Soto was the pilot of a F-4D Phantom II assigned to 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 336th Tactical Fighter Wing. De Soto, his navigator Captain Hall and another aircraft were returning from a cancelled strike mission near Quang Nam Province, Vietnam when both aircraft ascended into heavy cloud cover. The lead aircraft noticed De Soto’s plane was not in sight and immediately began an aerial search without success. De Soto was promoted to Colonel while in a missing status.

A search and rescue airborne mission were deployed and located De Soto’s crash site, there were no signs of the crew; however due to the hostile activity in the area prevented a ground investigation of the site.

In May 1995, a Joint Field Activity team located the crash site in the Giang District, Quang Nam Province and sent another joint team in July 1996 to recover evidence. A number of DPAA investigation and recovery efforts took place between 1998-2020, with a March 2021 recovery mission conducted by the host nation, finding possible osseous remains and material evidence. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify De Soto’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.

De Soto’s name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

De Soto was buried in Burlingame, California on June 30, 2023.

Airman Accounted For From Vietnam War

U.S. Air Force Capt. Frederick M. Hall

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Air Force Capt. Frederick M. Hall, 25, of Waynesville, North Carolina, reported missing during the Vietnam War, was accounted for March 23, 2023.

On April 12, 1969, 1st  Lt. Hall was the navigator on a F-4D Phantom II assigned to 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 336th Tactical Fighter Wing. Hall, his pilot, Colonel De Soto and another aircraft were returning from a cancelled strike mission near Quang Nam Province, Vietnam when both aircraft ascended into heavy cloud cover. The lead aircraft noticed Hall’s plane was not in sight and immediately began an aerial search without success. Hall was promoted to Captain while in a missing status.

A search and rescue airborne mission were deployed and located Hall’s crash site, there were no signs of the crew; however due to the hostile activity in the area prevented a ground investigation of the site.

In May 1995, a Joint Field Activity team located the crash site in the Giang District, Quang Nam Province and sent another joint team in July 1996 to recover evidence. A number of DPAA investigation and recovery efforts took place between 1998-2020, with a March 2021 recovery mission conducted by the host nation, finding possible osseous remains and material evidence. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

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

Hall’s name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Hall will be buried in Waynesville, North Carolina on Oct. 10, 2023.

 

Category: No Longer Missing