MIA Update, April 18, 2019

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced one burial update and four new identifications for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from World War II and Korea. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Army Cpl. Carlos E. Ferguson, 20, of Dawson, W.Va., will be buried May 18 in nearby Grassy Meadows. Ferguson, whose identification was announced in February, was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, engaged against North Korean and Chinese forces near Kangye, South Korea, from May 16-20, 1951. Ferguson was reported missing in action on May 18, 1951. Read about Ferguson here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1815170/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-ferguson-c/.
-- Navy Seaman 2nd Class Richard J. Thomson, 19, of League City, Texas, was stationed aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when it sustained multiple torpedo hits and capsized as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmembers, including Thomson. Interment services are pending. Read about Thomson here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1789082/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-thomson-r/.
-- Navy Seaman 1st Class Ernest R. West, 22, of Runnells, Iowa, was stationed aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when it sustained multiple torpedo hits and capsized as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including West. Interment services are pending. Read about West here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1778199/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-west-e/.
-- Army Pfc. Raymond H. Middlekauff, of Baltimore, Md. In late 1944, Middlekauff was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, which was engaged against German forces near the town of Grosshau in Germany’s Hürtgen Forest. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 4, 1944. Interment services are pending. Read about Middlekauff here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1815430/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-middlekauff-r/.
-- Army Capt. Rufus J. Hyman, 23, of Memphis, Tenn., was an infantry officer with Company A, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, which was engaged against the North Korean People’s Army in the vicinity of Kwonbin-ni, South Korea. He was declared missing in action on July 30, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read about Hyman here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1815351/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-hyman-r/.