Three More Are Home

DPMO has announced the identification of one US MIA from World War II and one US MIA from Korea.

• 1st. Lt. James F. Gatlin, Jr., 575th Bombardment Squadron, 391st Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force, US Army Air Forces, was lost 23 December 1944 in Germany. He was accounted for 9 January 2015.
• CPL C.G. Bolden, C Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, US Army, was lost 5 January 1951 in North Korea. He was accounted for 16 January 2015.

Both will be buried with full military honors.  Information on individual funeral arrangements is not currently available.

Additionally. as John noted yesterday published media reports indicate that a US survivor of the Bataan Death March who later died of illness while a POW – PVT Arthur H. Kelder, – has also been identified. His remains are pending acceptance by his family, and will presumably also be buried with full military honors.

You’re no longer missing, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Welcome home; rest now in peace.

. . .

Over 73,000 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,800 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,600 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; they no longer seems to provide by-name lists of the MIAs for whom there is a need for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) samples to assist in possible identification of remains.  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.

Category: No Longer Missing