Four More Accounted For
Defense MIA/POW Accounting Agency
Airman Accounted for from WWII
U.S. Army Cpl. James A. Hurt
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. James A. Hurt, 25, of East St. Louis, Illinois, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 21, 2023.
In 1942, Hurt was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Forces, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Hurt was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James L. Dorrance
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James L. Dorrance, 20 of Omaha, Nebraska, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for May 22, 2023.
In late 1950, Dorrance was a member of B Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery–Automatic Weapons Battalion, Division Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. 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 Dorrance had been a prisoner of war and died on March 17, 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp #5, Pyoktong, North Korea.
In the fall of 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Camp #5, to the United Nations Command. However, Dorrance’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.
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 September 2019, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14402, 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 Dorrance’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.
Dorrance’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific 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.
Dorrance will be buried in Omaha, Nebraska, on a date to be determined.
Airman Accounted for from WWII
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Max E. Dailey
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Max E. Dailey, 21, of Cherokee, Iowa, killed during World War II was accounted for June 22, 2023.
In the summer of 1943, Dailey served with the 409th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Dailey was serving as a navigator, crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire 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 for examination and identification.
To identify Dailey’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) analysis and autosomal DNA (auSTR).
Dailey’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.
Dailey will be buried in Charles City, Iowa, on a date to be determined.
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War
U.S. Army Cpl. Lewis W, Hill
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Lewis W, Hill, 18, of Detroit, Michigan, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for May 22, 2023.
In July 1950, Hill was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit was forced to retreat from the vicinity of Taejon, South Korea, on July 20. 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.
After regaining control of Taejon in the fall of 1950, the Army began recovering remains from the area and temporarily interring them at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) Taejon. One set of remains recovered during this period was designated Unknown X-29 Taejon. A tentative association was made between X-29 and Hill, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-29 was determined to be unidentifiable. The remains were sent to Hawaii where they were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On July 15, 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-29 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.
To identify Hill’s 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.
Hill’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.
Hill will be buried in Imlay City, Michigan, on a date to be determined.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.
Category: No Longer Missing
CPL James A Hurt.
You can find his family members at this site:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56770533/james-a-hurt
One can view his funeral service via video at this link. He was buried on 28 October 2023 with full Military Honors at Lake View Funeral Memorial Gardens in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/fairview-heights-il/james-a-hurt-11479648
James, born in Tennessee in 1917, became an orphan at the tender age of 7. His Mom and Dad both passed away in 1924 in Tennessee.
James, his Sister, Hazel and his Brother John grew up at the Masonic Widows and Orphans Home in Nashville, Tennessee. John later served in WWII as a SGT and was stationed at Camp Polk, LA when James was taken Prisoner by the Japanese.
Before enlisting in August 1940, James lived with Hazel and worked with his older Brother Walter at a tin can manufacturing company, the Continental Can Co. in East St. Louis.
James’s MOS was 911, an Airplane Armorer. He was assigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor), 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps in the Philippine Islands. He was stationed at Nichols Field just outside of Manila. He was an aircraft armorer for the planes at Nichols, mostly Curtiss-Wright P-40B Warhawks.
He died of malaria. His death was recorded on a condensed milk can label.
In a letter written to his sister in January 1941, Pvt. Hurt said, “It may only be a matter of months until the United States gets into the war. If we do go into the war, we can give a good account of ourselves. If we go, I have no fear. They may kill a lot of us, but we’ll make them pay for it dearly. Even if they kill us, they can never stop the spread of democracy and Christianity which is what we will be fighting for – a very worthy cause to die for, I think.”
Rest In Peace, Soldier.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
SFC James “Jim” Lee Dorrance.
You can find his family members here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/260658054/james-lee-dorrance
Barely 20 years young, Jim left behind his Wife, Mariana, in Omaha, who gave birth to a son, James Wesley Dorrance, just a week after he deployed. He never got to see son.
He was buried on 18 October 2023, near his Sisters at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.
https://omaha.com/news/local/korean-war-pow-soldier-buried-in-omaha-72-years-after-his-death/article_5c024d04-6c58-11ee-9354-93ac79ee0819.html
Born Jan. 11, 1931, Jim was the last of seven children born to James W. and Elizabeth Dorrance. He was seven years younger than his next-youngest sibling as a “bonus baby.”
He and his still living Nephew, Ted Kostkan, age 88, grew up together. They were only 3 years apart in age. They both hunted and fished together, roller-skated and rode motorbikes as well as selling corn around their neighborhood.
Both of them worked at Forest Lawn, the same cemetery where Jim was buried. Ted’s grandfather was a caretaker.
Jim and Ted were too young to serve in World War II, but Jim enlisted in the Army as soon as he turned 18 in January 1949.
Jim was a skilled woodworker but accidentally cut off two fingers while working a power saw at Fort Lewis, Washington. That could have earned him an exemption from combat duty. His unit, the 2nd Infantry Division’s 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery-Automatic Weapons Battalion — was sent to help battle the North Koreans. He said, “No, I joined to serve my country” and deployed with the 82nd.
Dorrance’s father died in 1960 and his mother in 1971. His last two sisters lived until 2015 — long enough to give DNA samples for the identification effort.
His wife Mariana remarried and left Omaha with their son, who is still alive. His son did not want to participate in his Dad’s Homecoming.
Rest In Peace, Soldier.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
2LT Max Eugene Dailey.
You can find his family members here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55903263/max-eugene-dailey
LT Dailey, born in Cherokee, Iowa, son of Merle William Dailey and Helen Laproth Dailey, graduated from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa in 1940. He was a student at the Iowa State Teacher’s College when he enlisted with the Army Air Force in January 1942.
He received his wings at Monroe Airfield, LA in December 1942.
Max’s father was the Superintendant of the Iowa State Beer and Cigarette Tax Division under Iowa’s State Treasurer Department.
Max was engaged to Jerry James of Station KGLO when he was KIA.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal and a Purple Heart.
Rest In Peace, Sir.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
“We were soldiers once, and young”
So full of life, and energy.
And then died in their prime.
(STANDS AT ATTENTION, SLOW SALUTE)
Welcome home, brothers, Rest In Peace.
(damned dusty here. pass a kleenex)
CPL Lewis William Hill was only a Teenager, age 18, when he gave his life for our Country.
You can find his family members here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47622796/lewis-william-hill
He was buried on 28 October 2023 at the Imlay Township Cemetery in Imlay City, Michigan:
https://www.muirbrothersfh.com/obituaries/Lewis-W-Hill?obId=29738737
He was the son of the late Arthur and the late Clara (Peck) Hill and grew up in the Lapeer and Imlay City, MI area. His Mom passed away in 1948 at the age of 47 and his Dad died in February 1951.
Lewis is survived by his nieces, Margery Hall, Karen Taylor, Suprema Simmons, Sara Grant, and Sharon Hall.
Rest In Peace, Soldier.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
Welcome home, men.
Rest well.
Welcome home Brothers. Rest in peace now.
Welcome Home, Gentlemen, our apologies that it took so long. We will Salute your Service and Pay Honors for your Sacrifice. Every Fallen Service Member deserves, at the very least, the grateful appreciation of the Country’s Patriots and a Marked Resting Place. Account for them all…Never Forget…and don’t let others forget. Say their names…Be their witness.
We must also offer up a Salute and word of Thanks to not only Dave for keeping this Thread Subject Post going…to our very own Beloved (we have THE best)ninja for the “rest of the story”, but also to the folks that are doing the meticulous work involved in the process all the way from the dis-interment, transport to Omaha, the technicians analyzing literally pieces of parts, researchers looking thru records, the Honor Guard/Burial Detail for the re-interment, to the individual placing the Rosette. To me, it mean a hell of a lot. Those duties aren’t going to do themselves.
SALUTE!
Once again, job well done, DPAA! Thanks.
Welcome Home.
May you and your families find peace.
*Slow Salute*
Welcome home, men.