Another Four Return

DPAA has identified and accounted for the following formerly-missing US personnel.

From World War II

SSgt. Carl M. Shaffer, US Army, assigned to 38th Bombardment Squadron, 30th Bombardment Group, US Army Air Forces, was lost on Tarawa on 21 January 1944. He was accounted for on 27 December 2018. (see note)

PFC Dewey W. Harris, US Army, assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, was lost in Germany on 14 November 1944. He was accounted for on 22 April 2019.

From Korea

PFC Sterling Geary, Jr., US Army, assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, was lost in North Korea on 27 November 1950. He was accounted for on 25 April 2019.

SFC Elden C. Justus, US Army, assigned to Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, was lost in North Korea on 6 December 1950. He was accounted for on 25 April 2019.

From Southeast Asia

None

Welcome back, elder brothers-in-arms. Our apologies that your return took so long.

You’re home now. Rest easy.

. . .

Over 72,000 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; over 1,500 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia (SEA); 126 remain unaccounted for from the Cold War; 5 remain unaccounted for from the Gulf Wars; and 1 individual remains unaccounted for from Operation Eldorado Canyon. Comparison of DNA from recovered remains against DNA from some (but not all) blood relatives can assist in making a positive ID for unidentified remains that have already been recovered, or which may be recovered in the future.

On their web site’s Contact Us page DPAA now has FAQs. One of those FAQs describes who can and cannot submit DNA samples useful in identifying recovered remains. The chart giving the answer can be viewed here. The text associated with the chart is short and is found in one of the FAQs.

If your family lost someone in one of these conflicts and you qualify to submit a DNA sample, please arrange to submit one. By doing that you just might help identify the remains of a US service member who’s been repatriated but not yet been identified – as well as a relative of yours, however distant. Or you may help to identify remains to be recovered in the future.

Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all while serving this nation.

. . .

Note: While SSgt. Shaffer was accounted for in late December 2018, his name did not appear on DPAA’s “Recently Accounted For” list until nearly 2 months after his accounting (e.g., on 25 February 2019). At that time, his name was “slipstreamed” onto DPAA’s list; this fact only recently came to my attention.

Category: No Longer Missing