MIA Update, October 19, 2018

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[url][/url]MIA Update: This week, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced 5 new identifications, and the burial date and location for 8 previously identified servicemen. Returning home with full military honors are:

-- Army Staff Sgt. Marshall F. Kipina, 21, of Calumet, Mich., whose remains were previously identified, was buried Oct. 18 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Kipina was assigned to the 131st Aviation Company, serving as an observer aboard an OV-1C aircraft, on a night surveillance mission from Phu Bai Airfield over Attapu Province, Laos People’s Democratic Republic. Radar and radio contact were lost with the aircraft which did not return as scheduled. Search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found. Read about Kipina http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1660047/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-vietnam-war-kipina-m/.
-- Army Lt. Col. Robert G. Nopp, 31, of Salem, Ore., whose remains were previously identified, was buried Oct. 18 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Nopp was an OV-1C pilot assigned to the 131st Aviation Company. On July 13, 1966, Nopp flew a night surveillance mission from Phu Bai Airfield over Attapu Province, Laos. Flying through heavy thunderstorms, radar and radio contact were lost with the aircraft, which was not uncommon due to the mountainous terrain in that part of Laos. When the aircraft did not return as scheduled, search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found. Read about Nopp http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1660049/funeral-announcement-for-army-pilot-killed-during-vietnam-war-nopp-r/.
-- Army Cpl. James I. Jubb, 21, of Eastport, Md., whose remains were previously identified, was buried Oct. 17 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Jubb was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. In August 1950, his unit sustained heavy losses while fighting against Korean forces in the vicinity of the Naktong River, South Korea. Jubb was declared missing in action on Aug. 10, 1950, when he could not be accounted for by his unit. Read about Jubb http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1660118/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-korean-war-jubb-j/.
-- Army Pfc. Kenneth B. Williams, 38, of Akron, Ohio, whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Oct. 22 in Seville, Ohio. Williams was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. In late November 1950, his unit was assembled with South Korean soldiers in the 31st Regimental Combat Team on the east side of the Chosin River, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by Chinese forces. Williams was among more than 1,000 members of the RCT killed or captured in enemy territory and was declared missing Dec. 2, 1950. Read about Williams http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1662550/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-korean-war-williams-k/.
-- Army Pfc. Fred W. Ashley, 22, of Emmett, Idaho, whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Oct. 20 in his hometown. Ashley was a member of Troop C, 2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Group, on a reconnaissance in the town of Paseka, Czechoslovakia. On May 4, 1945, German soldiers attacked Ashley’s platoon. Ashley’s unit reported him missing in action. Following the war, when Ashley was not among the American prisoners liberated from German captivity, the War Department amended his status to killed in action. Read about Ashley http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1660154/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-world-war-ii-ashley-f/ .
-- Army Pfc. Leslie E. Shankles, 33, of Arcadia, Kan., whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Oct. 24 in Fort Scott, Kan. Shankles was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, when he was killed Oct. 14, 1944, by enemy fire in the Raffelsbrand sector of the Hürtgen Forest in Germany. Shankles’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, along with the others missing from World War II. A rosette will now be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Read about Shankles http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1664295/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-shankles-l/.
-- Army Pvt. John B. Cummings, 22, of Hartford, Wis., whose remains were previously identified, was buried Oct. 13 in Hazelhurst, Wis. Cummings was a member of Company A, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, along the France and Germany border. On Dec. 31, 1944, German troops crossed the Rhine River into France. As darkness fell, two members of Cummings’ company passed him in a foxhole near the riverbank. U.S. troops heard German machine gun fire and maneuvered their way back to the foxhole, but were unable to locate Cummings. Despite extensive recovery efforts, Cummings’ remains were unable to be located. Read about Cummings http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1662553/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-world-war-ii-cummings-j/.
-- Navy Fireman 2nd Class George C. Ford, 25, of Lidderdale, Iowa, whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Oct. 20 in Glidden, Iowa. Ford was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The battleship sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen. Read about Ford http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1660404/funeral-announcement-for-uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-ford-g/.
-- Naval Reserve Lt. Richard C. Lannom was the bombardier/navigator aboard an A-6A aircraft on a night strike mission over Quang Ninh Province, North Vietnam on March 1, 1968. The flight path to the target was over islands known to have light anti-aircraft artillery. When the aircraft failed to rendezvous with the carrier, a search and rescue effort was mounted. No evidence of the plane could be found. Lannom and his pilot were subsequently declared missing in action. Interment services are pending. Read about Lannom http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1664205/sailor-accounted-for-from-vietnam-war-lannom-r/ .
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Michael L. Salerno was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. Salerno died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Salerno http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1659999/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-salerno-m/.
-- Navy Seaman 2nd Class Charles C. Gomez was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The battleship sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Gomez. Interment services are pending. Read about Gomez http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1660004/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-gomez-c/.
-- Navy Seaman 1st Class John A. Karli was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The battleship sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Karli. Interment services are pending. Read about Karli http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1664209/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-karli-j/.
-- Navy Buglemaster 2nd Class Lionel W. Lescault was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The battleship sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Lescault. Interment services are pending. Read about Lescault http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1664215/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-lescault-l/.