News

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1116-07
September 14, 2007
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Marine Missing From Korean War Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Pfc. Carl A. West, U.S. Marine Corps, of Amanda Park, Washington. He will be buried Oct. 4 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

West was a member of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, of the 1st Marine Division deployed near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, three Communist Chinese divisions launched an attack on the Marine positions. Over the next several days, U.S. forces staged a fighting withdrawal to the south, first to Hagaru-ri, then Koto-ri, and eventually to defensive positions at Hungnam. West died on Dec. 8, 1950, as a result of enemy action near Koto-ri. He was buried by fellow Marines in a temporary U.N. military cemetery in Hungnam, which fell to the North Koreans in December 1950. His identity was later verified by the FBI from a fingerprint taken at the time of the burial.

During "Operation Glory" in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of 2,944 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Included in this repatriation were remains associated with West's burial. The staff at the U.S. Army mortuary in Kokura, Japan, however, cited suspected discrepancies between the dental remains and West's dental file as well as discrepancies between the biological profile derived from the remains and West's physical characteristics. The remains were among 416 subsequently buried as "unknowns" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii.

In May 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command exhumed remains from The Punchbowl believed to be those of West. Although the remains did not yield usable DNA data, a reevaluation of the skeletal and dental remains led to West's identification.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1098-07
September 10, 2007
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History Of 9/11 Attack On The Pentagon Published

The Department of Defense has announced today that the Historical Office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Naval Historical Center and with the assistance of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps historical offices, has published a detailed, carefully documented history of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon.
Copies are available today for sale from the U.S. Government Printing Office at 1-(866) 512-1800 or online at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/pentagon911.jsp .
"Pentagon 9/11"is the most comprehensive account to date of the attack and its aftermath, examining both the impact of the deadly assault on the Pentagon building and its occupants and the compelling rescue and recovery effort that followed.
Five authors, led by Office of the Secretary of Defense Historian Alfred Goldberg, worked from more than 1,300 oral history interviews to produce a sweeping narrative in words and pictures, including many previously unpublished photographs, that provides graphic testimony to the scale and force of the attack and the strength and courage of survivors, rescuers, and responders who fought the fires, ensured security, and cared for the dying and injured.
Publication of this important volume coincides with the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11300
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1083-07
September 05, 2007

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Airman Missing from WWII is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is 2nd Lt. Harold E. Hoskin, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Houlton, Maine. He will be buried Friday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the Army met with Hoskin's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

On Dec. 21, 1943, Hoskin was one of five crewmen on board a B-24D that departed Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska, on a cold-weather test mission. The aircraft never returned to base and it was not located in subsequent search attempts. The following March, one of the crewmen, 1st Lt. Leon Crane, arrived at Ladd Field after spending more than two months in the Alaska wilderness. He said that the plane had crashed after it lost an engine, and Crane and another crewmember, Master Sgt. Richard L. Pompeo, parachuted from the aircraft before it crashed. Crane did not know what happened to Pompeo after they bailed out.

In October 1944, Crane assisted a recovery team in locating the crash. They recovered the remains of two of the crewmen, 1st Lt. James B. Sibert and Staff Sgt. Ralph S. Wenz. Hoskin's remains were not found and it was concluded that he probably parachuted out of the aircraft before it crashed.

In 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) received information from a National Park Service Historian regarding a possible WWII crash site in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Alaska. The historian turned over ashes believed to be the cremated remains of the crew, however, it was determined they contained no human remains. In 2006, a JPAC team excavated the site and recovered human remains and other non-biological material, including items worn by U.S. Army officers during WWII.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Hoskin's remains.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11234
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
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or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1007-07
August 15, 2007

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Air Force Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Lt. Col. Alton C. Rockett, Jr., U.S. Air Force, of Birmingham, Ala. He will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On June 2, 1967, Rockett and his co-pilot, Capt. Daniel L. Carrier, crewed the number two aircraft in a flight of two F-4Cs flying an armed reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. During their bomb run, anti-aircraft ground fire was observed, but Rockett reported that his aircraft was not hit. When the lead aircraft completed its bomb run, the flight leader told Rockett to return to base, but moments later, he saw a large fireball in his rear-view mirror. He made several radio calls to Rockett, but did not hear or see anything from the aircraft. Due to the dangerous location, there were no further search and rescue attempts.
In June and July 1989, Vietnamese officials repatriated to the United States sets of remains of U.S. servicemembers. The officials also supplied documents identifying that three of the sets of remains were those of Rockett, Carrier and another serviceman, Col. Samuel C. Maxwell. It was later discovered that the name associations among those remains had been confused. In October and November 1989, Maxwell and Carrier were identified after further analysis, but the third set of remains could not be attributed to Rockett at that time.
In 1993, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and interviewed witnesses. One Vietnamese citizen said that Rockett and Carrier were buried near the crash site, but that their remains were exhumed in 1978 by Vietnamese officials.
In 2001, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team re-interviewed witnesses and surveyed the burial and crash sites. Small pieces of airplane wreckage were found at the crash site.
In 2003, a maternal-line mitochondrial DNA reference sample for Rockett was obtained.
In 2006, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the burial sites, but recovered no human remains.
Using forensic identification tools, circumstantial evidence and mitochondrial DNA, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory identified Rockett's remains, which were those previously repatriated to the United States in 1989.
For additional information of the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11196
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 960-07
August 03, 2007

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Airmen Missing in Action from Vietnam War are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Lt. Col. James H. Ayres, of Pampa, Texas, and Lt. Col. Charles W. Stratton, of Dallas, Texas, both U.S.Air Force. Ayres will be buried Aug. 10 in Pampa, and Stratton's burial date is being set by his family.

On Jan. 3, 1971, these men crewed an F-4E Phantom II aircraft departing Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base on a nighttime strike mission of enemy targets in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Shortly after Ayres initiated a target run, the crew of other aircraft in the flight observed a large explosion. No one witnessed an ejection or heard beeper signals, and communication was lost with the aircraft. Hostile activity in the area prevented search and rescue attempts.

In 2001, a joint U.S./Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Savannakhet Province and interviewed Laotian citizens about their knowledge of aircraft crash sites. One of the men led the team to what was believed to be the Ayres and Stratton crash site.

Later that year, another U.S./L.P.D.R team began excavating the site. The team recovered human remains and aircrew-related items. Between 2002 and 2005, joint teams visited the site six more times to complete the excavation, recovering more human remains and crew-related items.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10948
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 672-07
May 30, 2007
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Navy Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Lt. Michael T. Newell, U.S. Navy, of Ellenville, N.Y. He will be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On Dec. 14, 1966, Newell was flying an F-8E Crusader aircraft as wingman in a flight of two on a combat air patrol over North Vietnam. During the mission, the flight leader saw a surface-to-air missile explode between the two aircraft. Although Newell initially reported that he had survived the blast, his aircraft gradually lost power and crashed near the border between Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces in south central North Vietnam. The flight leader did not see a parachute nor did he hear an emergency beacon signal. He stayed in the area and determined that Newell did not escape from the aircraft prior to the crash.
Between 1993 and 2002, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), visited the area of the incident five times to conduct investigations and survey the crash site. They found pilot-related artifacts and aircraft wreckage consistent to an F-8 Crusader.
In 2004, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team began excavating the crash site. The team was unable to complete the recovery and subsequent teams re-visited the site two more times before the recovery was completed in 2006. As a result, the teams found human remains and additional pilot-related items.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10915
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 633-07
May 23, 2007
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DoD Assists in Identification of Missing Vietnam-Era CIA Pilot

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of an American civilian pilot, missing in action from Vietnam while flying for Civil Air Transport, a proprietary of the CIA, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is James B. McGovern Jr. of Elizabeth, N.J. He will be buried tomorrow at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On May 6, 1954, McGovern, along with his co-pilot, First Officer Wallace A. Buford, and four French servicemen, departed Haiphong, Vietnam, in their Civil Air Transport C-119 on what was to be the last supply drop to the besieged French forces at Camp Isabelle-the remaining French holdout in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. As the aircraft approached the drop zone, it was hit by anti-aircraft fire. The pilots attempted to fly southwest to the relative safety of Laos, but crashed along the Song [River] Ma in Houaphan Province. Only two of the Frenchmen survived and were taken prisoner by Lao forces. One of them died within a few days, and the other was released and returned to France a few months later. McGovern, Wallace and two of the French servicemen were not recovered.
Between 1997 and 1998, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Houaphan Province two times to investigate the incident. They interviewed several Laotian citizens who recalled the crash. The citizens said that three of the crewmen who died in the impact had been buried near the crash site. When the team surveyed the site, they found small fragments of aircraft wreckage, but did not locate any grave sites.
In 2002, another joint U.S.-L.P.D.R. team excavated the site. They found crew-related equipment and aircraft wreckage, including an aircraft data plate dated 8-21-52, but found no human remains. A few months later, another team revisited the site and recovered human remains from an isolated burial.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA in the identification of McGovern's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1169.

-U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10864
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 574-07
May 11, 2007
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Airmen MIssing In Action From WWII is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is 1st Lt. Archibald Kelly, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Detroit, Mich. He will be buried on May 12 in Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, Mich. Representatives from the Army met with Kelly’s next-of-kin in his hometown to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

On July 22, 1944, Kelly was the navigator on a B-24J Liberator on a bombing raid of the oil fields at Ploesti, Romania. Returning to Lecce air base in Italy, the plane was struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed in what is now Croatia, approximately 430 miles southwest of Ploesti. Of the ten crewmen on board, eight survived and bailed out of the aircraft before it crashed. The rear gunner died and his body was later recovered. One of the surviving crewmen saw Kelly bail out before the crash, but said he struck a rocky cliff face when the wind caught his parachute. His body was not found at that time.

After researching information contained in U.S. wartime records, specialists from DPMO’s Joint Commission Support Directorate (JCSD) in 2005 interviewed residents from Dubrovnik and Mihanici village who had information related to WWII aircraft losses in the area. One resident recalled a crash in which one of the crewmen landed on a pile of rocks on Mt. Snijeznica after his parachute failed to open. He said locals buried the individual. Based on witness descriptions of the burial location, the team searched the mountaintop, but was unable to locate the burial site.

Additional JCSD archival research in Croatia confirmed the earlier information found in U.S. records. In June 2006, the Dubrovnik resident reported to JCSD that he had continued the search and found the grave site of the American serviceman. He sent pictures of both the site and the remains to DPMO. In September 2006, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) team excavated the burial site, confirming with local villagers that it was the same site photographed by the Dubrovnik resident. The team recovered human remains at the site.

Among other traditional forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Kelly’s remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

83-year-old WWII Marine vet awarded DFC

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 7, 2007 22:04:06 EDT

SAN DIEGO — An 83-year-old former Marine was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in more than 50 combat missions flown in the South Pacific during World War II.

Robert B. O’Reilly of El Cajon was also awarded an Air Medal with seven gold stars during a ceremony Sunday at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The Distinguished Flying Cross, the nation’s oldest military aviation award, is given to pilots and crew members who perform voluntary acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement during flight missions.

O’Reilly was a turret gunner on TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. He was responsible for firing machine guns at enemy planes while the Avenger dropped torpedoes aimed at Japanese submarines and warships.

His missions included flights from Iwo Jima, where his plane sometimes faced enemy fire as it took off.

He said he resisted applying for the medals owed to him, even as thousands of other aging veterans flooded the armed service branches with similar requests.

In the years following his discharge in 1945, O’Reilly raised a family with his wife, Deleurs, and pursued a career as a police officer in his hometown of Chicago.

In 1969, O’Reilly’s 19-year-old son, Tim, was killed by rocket fire only five weeks after being deployed to Vietnam as a Marine.

“I just didn’t feel right because of Tim,” O’Reilly said. “He deserved the medals.”

His children pushed him to apply for the medals anyway.

“We told him it would be good for his grandchildren,” O’Reilly’s son, Tom, said at the service.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10819
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 523-07
May 02, 2007
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Five Missing WWII Airmen are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of five U.S. servicemen, missing from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are 1st Lt. Cecil W. Biggs, of Teague, Texas; 1st Lt. William L. Pearce, of San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. Thomas R. Yenner, of Kingston, Pa.; Tech. Sgt. Russell W. Abendschoen of York, Pa.; and Staff Sgt. George G. Herbst of Brooklyn, N.Y.; all U.S. Army Air Forces. Pearce was buried April 27 in Louisville, Ky.; Herbst will be buried June 8 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.; Biggs will be buried June 9 in Teague, Texas; Abendschoen’s funeral is June 13 at Arlington; and Yenner will be buried July 30 at Arlington.

Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

On Sept. 21, 1944, a C-47A Skytrain crewed by these airmen was delivering Polish paratroopers to a drop zone south of Arnhem, Holland, in support of “Operation Market Garden.” Soon after departing the drop zone, the plane crashed and there were no survivors. The Germans opened the dikes in the region where the plane crashed and flooded the area before any remains could be recovered.

When Dutch citizens returned to their homes in Arnhem the next year, they recovered remains from the Skytrain’s wreckage and buried them in a nearby cemetery. A U.S. Army graves registration team later disinterred the remains which were reburied as group remains in 1950 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Kentucky.

In 1994, a Dutch citizen located more human remains and other crew-related materials at a site associated with this C-47 crash. They were eventually turned over to U.S. officials.

Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains of these five men. The remains that could not be attributed to a specific individual have been buried with the first set of group remains at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10807
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 510-07
April 30, 2007
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Soldier Missing in Action from the Korean War is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Cpl. Pastor Balanon Jr., U.S. Army, of San Francisco, Calif. He will be buried May 3 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the Army met with Balanon’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

In late October 1950, Balanon was assigned to L Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Calvary Regiment, then engaging enemy forces south of Unsan, North Korea, near a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel’s Head. Chinese communist forces attacked the 8th Regiment’s positions on Nov. 1, 1950, forcing a withdrawal to the south where they were surrounded by the enemy. The remaining survivors in the 3rd Battalion attempted to escape a few days later, but Balanon was declared missing in action on Nov. 2, 1950, in the vicinity of Unsan County.

In 2001, a joint U.S.-North Korean team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site in Kujang County, south of Unsan County. A North Korean citizen living near the site told the team that the remains were relocated to Kujang after they were discovered elsewhere during a construction project. The battle area was about one kilometer north of the secondary burial site.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in Balanon’s identification.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

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