MIA Update, May 3, 2019

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced the identifications of five American servicemen who had been missing and unaccounted-for from WWII and the Korean War. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Army Pfc. Herschel M. Riggs was a member of Headquarters Company, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, involved in combat actions against North Korean forces near Taejon, South Korea. Riggs was declared missing in action on July 16, 1950, when he could not be accounted for by his unit. Interment services are pending. Read more about Riggs here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1795336/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-riggs-h/.
-- Army Cpl. Ralph L. Bennett was a member of Headquarters Company, 209th Engineer Combat Battalion, as an engineer in the China-Burma-India Theater. On June 13, 1944, Bennett’s battalion fought in the siege of the Myitkyina, Burma, after successfully taking the airfield west of Myitkyina from Japanese control. Bennett was reported to have been killed during the battle. Interment services are pending. Read more about Bennett here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1830986/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-bennett-r/.
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Elden C. Justus was a member of Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, which was a part of the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT). In late November 1950, the 31st RCT deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir where it was engaged by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces who were there supporting North Korea. Justus could not be accounted for by his unit at the end of the battle. He was reported missing in action as of Dec. 6, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read more about Justus here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1824963/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-justus-e/.
-- Army Pfc. Sterling Geary, Jr. was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, which was engaged in battle with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces in North Korea. He was declared missing in action on Nov. 27, 1951, when he could not be accounted for by his unit following fighting at Hill 234 and Tong-dong Village, North Korea. Interment services are pending. Read more about Geary here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1824956/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-geary-s/.
-- Navy Fireman 3rd Class Jasper L. Pue was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which capsized after sustaining multiple torpedo hits 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 Pue. Interment services are pending. Read more about Pue here https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1830983/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-pue-j/.