Three More Accounted For

Defense MIA/POW Accounting Agency

Airman Accounted For From World War II

 U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Wesley L. Jones

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Wesley L. Jones, 22, of Wichita, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 16, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Jones was assigned to the 345^th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98^th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9^th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Jones was the gunner 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. His 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 Jones’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Jones’ 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.

Jones will be buried in Wichita, Kansas, on a date to be determined.

Airman Accounted for from WWII

U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Walter B. Miklosh

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Walter B. Miklosh, 21, of Chicago, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 5, 2023.

In the summer of 1944, Miklosh was assigned to the 678th Bombardment Squadron, 444th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), 58th Bombardment Wing, Twentieth Bomber Command. On June 26, Miklosh while serving as a navigator on a 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 Miklosh. 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 Miklosh’s remains, scientists from DPAA used material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome (Y-STR), analysis.

Miklosh will be buried in Sierra Vista, Arizona, on a date to be determined.

 

 

Soldier Accounted For From World War II

Army Sgt. Bernard J. Sweeney

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Sgt. Bernard J. Sweeney, Jr., 22, of Waterbury, Connecticut, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 14, 2021.

In December 1944, Sweeney was assigned to Company I, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. His unit had been engaged in battle with German forces near Strass, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 16. His body was not recovered.

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 Sweeney’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-2752 Neuville, recovered from a minefield north of Kleinhau, Germany, in 1946 possibly belonged to Sweeney. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

To identify Sweeney’s 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.

Sweeney’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.

Sweeney will be laid to rest Oct. 10, 2023, in Wading River, New York.

Category: No Longer Missing