A Baker’s Dozen Return

DPMO has announced the identification of twelve US MIAs from World War II and another US MIA from the Korean War.

• PFC Richard N. Bean, Company D, 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost 15 June 1944 on Saipan. He was accounted for 4 September 2014.
• 1st Lt. William Cook and Sgt. Eric M. Honeyman, 599th Bombardment Squadron, 397th Bombardment Group, US Army Air Forces, was lost 23 December 1944 in Germany. They were accounted for 27 and 28 August 2014, respectively.
• SGT Lee H. Manning, Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, US Army, was lost 1 December 1950 in North Korea. He was accounted for 26 August 2014.
• Pvt. Robert J. McConachie, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, USMC, was lost 15 June 1945 on Okinawa, Japan.
• 1st Lts. William D. Bernier, Bryant E. Poulsen, Herbert V. Young Jr.; Sgt. Charles A. Gardner; Staff Sgt. John E. Copeland,; and Tech. Sgts. Charles L. Johnston and Hugh F. Moore, 321st Bombardment Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group, 5th Army Air Forces, US. Army Air Forces, were lost 10 April 1944, on Papua New Guinea. They were accounted for on 18 July 2014, 16 July 2014, 19 August 2014, 31 July 2014, 2 August 2014, 21 August 2014, and 5 September 2014, respectively.
• PFC Bernard Gavrin, Company D, 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost 15 June 1944 on Saipan. He was accounted for 29 July 2014.

PFC Gavrin was buried on 12 September 2014 in Arlington National Cemetery. Funeral arrangements for the other individuals listed above was not immediately available; however, all will be buried with full military honors.

Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest in peace.

. . .

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 see if they already have a mtDNA sample for your missing relative.  If not, please 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.

(Author’s note:  the original version of this article misspelled the name of one of these returned fallen.  My apologies for the error.)

Category: No Longer Missing