Another Comes Home, While Another is Buried
DPMO has announced the identification of another US MIA from World War II.
Pfc. Randolph Allen, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, USMC, was lost 20 November 1943 on Tarawa. He was accounted for 17 June 2014. He will be buried with full military honors 28 July 2014 in Arlington National Cemetery.
Welcome home, my elder brother-in-arms. Rest in peace.
Separately, DPMO has announced funeral arrangements for CPL Cletus R. Lies, who was lost 28 November 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir. CPL Lies will be buried 3 July 2014 in New Rockford, ND. The identification of CPL Lies’ remains was announced by DPMO in December, 2013, and was also previously noted here.
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Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,890 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia (SEA). Comparison of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from recovered remains against mtDNA from a matrilineal descendant can assist in providing a positive ID for those recovered remains.
Unfortunately, JPAC has recently reorganized their web site and no longer seems to provide by-name lists of the MIAs for whom there is a need for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). So if you have a relative that is still MIA from World War II, Korea, or SEA – please consider reading this JPAC fact sheet to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.
If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample and have a relative from World War II, Korea, or SEA who is still MIA, please contact JPAC (there is an 866 number on the flier linked above) and arrange to submit a sample. By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.
Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all while serving this nation.
Category: No Longer Missing
Welcome home my elder brothers Pfc. Randolph Allen and CPL Cletus R. Lies. You gave “the last full measure of devotion”, to our country. My respect and honor go out to you and may God bless your families and give them peace now.
The marvel of the internet is astounding. I googled Pfc. Randolph Allen and one of the hits was of someone looking for info on an ancestry site–in 2007. Someone responded in 2013 regarding the unidentified remains of hindreds of Tarawa Marines and, presumably, one thing led to another to bring the Marine to this point. Long ago lost on a distant shore, yet he remained unforgotten, is now identified, and will be buried at Arlington next month.
Welcome Home. May they rest in peace, and their families find comfort in their return.
Never Forget.
Never forgotten from a grateful nation…
Pfc Randolph Allen was recovered by the History Flight team on Tarawa in. November of 2013