Four More Accounted For
Defense MIA/POW Accounting Agency
Pilot Accounted For From World War II
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Noel E. Shoup
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Noel E. Shoup, 25, of Dublin, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 6, 2023.
In February 1944, Shoup was assigned to the359th Bombardment Squadron, 303d Bombardment Group (Heavy). On Feb. 28 Shoup was piloting a B-17F “Flying Fortress,” that was struck by anti-aircraft after a bombing raid on German rocket sites in France’s Pas-de-Calais department. His body was not recovered, and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a finding of death on July 14, 1945.
According to witnesses before the B17F crashed near the village of Le Translay, France, three airmen parachuted successfully, seven crew members were killed, five were recovered and identified and the remaining two including Shoup were not identified. At the time of the crash, German forces recovered six sets of remains, near the village of Wiammeville, France and were buried in the English World War I Memorial Cemetery at Abbeville on March 2, 1944.
In 1945 an American graves registration team disinterred the six sets of remains from Abbeville and reburied them in the United States Military Cemetery at St. Andre (USMC St. Andre), France. Graves registration personnel designated one set of unknown remains as X-452 St. Andre.
Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. In March 1947, following unsuccessful attempts to identify X-452, AGRC investigators transferred X-452 from USMC St. Andre to the Suresnes American Cemetery. He was declared non-recoverable on Dec. 26, 1950
In September 2017 two French researchers led a DPAA Investigation Team to an aircraft crash site in Wiammeville, France. Which resulted in subsequent investigation and recovery efforts in 2018, finding material evidence and osseous remains.
In October 2019, X-452 St. Andre was disinterred from the Suresnes American Cemetery and transported the remains to the DPAA laboratory for forensic analysis.
To identify Shoup’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome (Y-STR) analysis.
Shoup’s name is recorded on the on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neupré, Belgium, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Shoup will be buried in Dublin, Texas, on Sept. 11, 2023.
Soldier Accounted For From World War II
U.S. Army Sergeant John W. Radanovich
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sergeant John W. Radanovich, 23, of Mount Olive, Illinois, reported missing during World War II, was accounted for May 11, 2023.
In November 1944, Radanovich was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His rifle platoon was engaged in battle with German forces near the town of Grosshau, in Hürtgen Forest, Germany when he was reported missing in action Dec. 1, 1944. Despite continued progress against German fighting positions, many soldiers were killed along the Company G battle line. The Germans never reported Radanovich as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not immediately recovered. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death in December 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. None of the remains recovered during that time were identified as Radanovich.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen Forest, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2754A Neuville, recovered near Grosshau in 1946 possibly belonged to Radanovich. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Radanovich’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), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Radanovich’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.
Radanovich will be buried in Mount Olive, Illinois on a date yet to be determined.
Airman Accounted For From World War II
U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Donal C. Aiken
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Donal C. Aiken, 22, of Everett, Washington, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 5, 2023.
In the summer of 1944, Aiken was assigned to the 678th Bombardment Squadron, 444th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), 58th Bombardment Wing, Twentieth Bomber Command. On June 26, Aiken while serving as a crewmember on the B-29 Superfortress crashed into a rice paddy in the village of Sapekhati, India after a bombing raid on Imperial iron and steel works at Yawata, Kyushu Island, Japan. All 11 crew members were killed instantly in the crash.
On June 28, 1944 a team from 342nd Service Squadron, 329th Service Group visited the crash site recovering and identifying only seven sets of remains which were interred at in United States Military Cemetery in Panitola, Assam, India and subsequently disinterred and sent to their final internment on Jan. 13, 1948.
In September 1948 the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), investigation team searched the area of the crash site, but they did not discover any remains associated with Aiken. He was declared non-recoverable Jan. 2, 1948.
In October 2014 the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (a DPAA predecessor organization) conducted a Joint Field Activity in Sapekhati, which led to the location of the crash site and the recovery of life support equipment and wreckage associated with the B29 aircraft. In 2018 and 2019, Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH) a DPAA partner organization excavated the site and recovered possible osseous remains and material evidence.
To identify Aiken’s remains, scientists from DPAA used material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), analysis.
Aiken will be buried in Madison, Tennessee on a date yet to be determined.
Soldier Accounted For From Korean War
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James L. Wilkinson
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James L. Wilkinson, 19, of Bowden, Georgia, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Dec. 5, 2022.
In July 1950, Wilkinson, was a member of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action during fighting along the Naktong River near Yongson, South Korea, on Sept. 8. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.
In July 1951, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Tanggok. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-1588. After extensive analysis by the Central Identification Unit-Kokura in Japan was unable to identify X-1588, the remains were declared unidentifiable. They were later sent to Hawaii where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, with other Korean War Unknowns.
In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On March 25, 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1588 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Wilkinson’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.
Wilkinson’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, 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.
Wilkinson will be buried on Sept. 16, 2023, in Barrow County, Georgia.
Category: No Longer Missing
Always nice to hear these stories.
Welcome home, may you rest in peace.
Thank you for posting this Dave.
My dad was a B-17G Bombardier and it’s always nice to see
these men are not forgotten.
Welcome Home, Warriors. Salute to your Service and Honors Rendered for your Sacrifice. Every Fallen Service Member deserves, at the very least, a Marked Resting Place.
Thank you, again, Dave, for these posts.
Welcome home Brothers. Rest in peace now.
Welcome Home.
RIP. Always good to see the total numbers get smaller, even four at a time. A worthy effort that few other nations are willing to put in.
But overall, we have it pretty good in terms of numbers. I once visited an arch memorial in the Somme region of France commemorating more than 70k missing Brits from just the battle of the Somme, on top of a UK cemetery every few miles. May we never know those numbers of casualties.