MIA Update, June 14, 2019

[boardman]

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

-- Air Force Col. Roy A. Knight, Jr. was a pilot with the 602nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, assigned to Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand. On May 19, 1967, Knight’s aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire, severing the right wing. No parachute was observed prior to the aircraft crashing and bursting into flames. The Air Force declared Knight deceased in September 1974. Interment services are pending. Read about Knight https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1875018/pilot-accounted-for-from-vietnam-war-knight-r/.
-- Army Cpl. Robert L. Bray was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment. He was reported missing in action on July 20, 1950, when he could not be accounted for following his unit fighting in a defensive action against enemy forces near Taejon, South Korea. The Army declared him deceased on Dec. 31, 1953. Interment services are pending. Read about Bray https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1870655/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-bray-r/.
-- Army Pvt. Ballard McCurley was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest. On Nov. 29, 1944, his battalion went to a reserve position in the woods west of the town of Hürtgen. According to witnesses, while clearing out a tree stump, McCurley inadvertently set off an enemy anti-personnel mine and he was killed instantly. His remains were not recovered or identified immediately after his loss. Interment services are pending. Read about McCurley https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1873481/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mccurley-b/.