Three More Accounted For
Defense MIA/POW Accounting Agency
Pilot Accounted for from WWII
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Gilbert H. Myers
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Gilbert H. Myers, 27, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 10, 2023.
In the summer of 1943, Myers was assigned to the 381st Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, in the Mediterranean Theater. On July 10, while serving as a co-pilot of a B-25 Mitchell, Myers’ aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire while conducting a bombing mission over Sicily. Myers’s remains were not recovered, and he was subsequently declared missing in action.
In late 1944, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) researchers discovered that Italian residents of Sciacca, found a body belonging to the B-25 pilot at a crash site. AGRS investigators at the time indicated that they found some remains of the wreckage, but did not locate any additional losses. Later in 1947, investigators conducted search and recovery operations near Sciacca, but were unable to locate anything linking back to Myers.
In 2021 and 2022, DPAA and partner organization personnel from the Cranfield University Recovery and Identification of Conflict Team returned to Sciacca. There they were able to recover additional plane wreckage pieces, as well as human remains from the crash site. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify Myers’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.
Myers’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, an ABMC site in Nettuno, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Myers will be buried on Nov 10, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
USS California Sailor Accounted for from WWII
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Stanley C. Galaszewski
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Stanley C. Galaszewski, 29, of Steubenville, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for on May 23, 2022.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Galaszewski was assigned to the battleship USS California, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 104 crewmen, including Galaszewski.
From December 1941 to April 1942, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 39 men from the USS California at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified the 25 Unknowns who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Galaszewski.
In 2018, DPAA personnel exhumed the 25 USS California Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Galaszewski’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.
Galaszewski’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Galaszewski will be buried on Nov. 3, 2023 in Steubenville, Ohio.
Soldier Accounted for from Korean War
U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Charles A. Dickman
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Charles A. Dickman, 17, of Cashton, Wisconsin, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 20, 2023.
In July 1950, Dickman was a member of Mike Company, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in defensive actions north of Chochiwon, South Korea, on July 12. Due to intense 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. 13, 1953.
After regaining control of Chochiwon 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-146 Taejon, recovered in the vicinity of the Kum River, South Korea. A tentative association was made between X-146 and Dickman, but definitive proof could not be found, and X-146 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-146 Taejon as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory, for analysis.
To identify Dickman’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.
Dickman’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.
Dickman was buried in Cashton, Wisconsin, on Oct. 21, 2023.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA is grateful to the authorities of Sciacca and Agrigento, Italy for their support, including Dr. Domenica Gullì, of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Agrigento, and the Comando Compagnia Carabinieri Sciacca. Additionally, DPAA is appreciative of Dr. Nicola Virgilio for sharing his research regarding the Aeroporto Fantasma, which continues to assist investigation and recovery efforts in southwest Sicily.
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 or 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
*Slow Salute*
2LT Gilbert Haldeen Myers.
Family Members can be found here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/260922330/gilbert-haldeen-myers
Rest In Peace, Sir.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
“Memorial For Gulfport’s Second Lieutenant Gilbert Myers”
https://thegabber.com/gilbert-myers-comes-home-gulfports-second-lieutenant/
“Myers was born on Feb. 10, 1916 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He spent his young life working in steel mills, and by 1927 he was the oldest of six siblings, including his brother Paul, with whom he was very close. In 1929, America was plunged into economic depression, and the Myers’ couldn’t escape. After his father lost his job, and his family lost their houses, Gilbert was forced to drop out of high school to look for a job.”
“In 1936, the family split up. Gilbert’s parents moved to Gulfport, with their three youngest children. He soon joined them, and got a job as a truck driver for Smith Service Co., headquartered on the intersection of 3rd Avenue South and 22nd Street South. After a few years of working, he enlisted and left the area for basic training.”
“Following basic training, he passed the tests to enroll in flight cadet school. He did his training all around the south, in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. Finally, he graduated as an officer on Jan. 14, 1943.”
“For the next three months, Gilbert flew training missions around the south. One of these flights allowed him to fly over his parents house, flashing his lights a few times to let them know he was there. He continually was asked to train other pilots, but all he wanted was to go and fight.”
“Myers will get a proper funeral, on Nov. 10, at Veterans Park in Gulfport. He is to be buried in the closest grave to his late brother, Paul.”
2nd Class Stanley Casmier Galaszewski:
“Descendant Reflects On Missing Service Member’s Return”
https://www.timesleaderonline.com/news/local-news/2023/11/descendant-reflects-on-missing-service-members-return/
“Deborah Conti, Galaszewski’s great-niece, recalled stories her grandmother, Galaszewski’s sister, used to tell about her brother. The two had been close, Conti said, and the news of the attack and Galaszewski being presumed dead was a blow to the family.”
“My grandmother used to tell us she wished she could have brought him home,” Conti said.”
“Galaszewski was born in Steubenville on Sept. 5, 1912. He was one of seven children, four boys and three girls, born to Anthony and Mary Helen Galaszewski. His father died in 1936, resulting in difficult conditions for the family during the Great Depression.”
“Although Conti is from Cleveland, Galaszewski’s other living descendants are located in Toronto, Steubenville and Wintersville. Today’s funeral for Galaszewski will unite the family, bringing together the oldest and youngest descendants — 72-year-old Dennis Galaszewski, who is Stanley Galaszewski’s nephew, and Conti’s 4-year-old grandson.”
His Family Members can be found here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155118877/stanley-casmier-galaszewski
Stanley was the son of Anthony Galaszewski (1882–1936) and Mary Helen (Baginski) Galaszewski (1898–1981).
Stanley enlisted in he United States Navy on November 15, 1940 in Cleveland, OH. He then became a Seaman 2nd Class and was stationed on the USS California. His awards and decorations include: Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
Rest In Peace, Sir.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
PFC Charles Alphonse Dickman.
17 Years Young. Only A Teenager When He Gave His Life For Our Country.
“Korean War Soldier Laid To Rest In Cashton”
https://www.wxow.com/news/korean-war-soldier-laid-to-rest-in-cashton/article_19e99120-706d-11ee-8997-ab877278d5e6.html
“Dickman’s only remaining sibling, his sister, Patricia Filut expressed that this day means so much to her.”
“It means the world to me cause I’m 93 years old and I got to see this before I passed away,” she said.”
“Filut said her family had nine siblings all growing up in Cashton. She can remember the day that she last saw her brother.”
“1950. I’m going to say 1950. He had just gotten into the service, but he came home for leave and he stopped at my apartment in Milwaukee at that time,” Filut said. “And that’s the last I’d seen him.”
“Filut said that day resonates with her to the present day.”
His family members can be found here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101953193/charles-alphonse-dickman
PFC Charles A. Dickman, of Cashton, WI, born August 3, 1932, to George and Elizabeth Dickman, was presumed killed in action in the Korean Conflict July 12, 1950. He was 17 years old.
His surviving family includes his sister, Patricia (Filut) of Pewaukee, WI; along with many nieces and nephews.
Charles’ family members who are now deceased include his parents, George and Elizabeth Dickman; brothers and sisters, Laverne, Gerald, Mildred (Jernander), James, DuWayne, Donna Mae (Steinmetz) and Richard Dickman.
Rest In Peace, Soldier.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Bring Them All Home.
Welcome Home, Gentlemen. Our apologies that it took so long. We give a Salute to your Service, will Pay Honors for your Sacrifices…we will say your names…we will be your witnesses. Every Fallen Service Member deserves, at the very least, a Marked Resting Place. You now have that.
Account for them all.
Thanks again to Dave for bringing us this news, and Thanks again to our very own (we have THE best) ninja for “…the rest of the story…”
Welcome home Brothers. Rest in peace now.
Welcome Home.
May you and your families find peace.
Sweet. They brought one home from the wild!
Much as all of these are important, it’s those human remains that are found in situ which are the most important, in my humble opinion. Unknowns residing in an American battlefield cemetery are pretty honorable but those in a field are just sad.