MIA Update- November 15, 2019

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced one new identification and six burial updates for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from WWII and the Korean War. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- U.S. Army Cpl. Jackey D. Blosser, 21, was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. Interment services are pending. Read about Blosser https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2016469/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-blosser-j/.
-- Army Cpl. Kenneth E. Ford, 18, of Albia, Iowa, was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. Interment services are pending. Read about Ford https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1969212/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-ford-k/.
-- Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 aircraft on which Lower was the radio operator crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. Lower will be buried Nov. 23, 2019, in his hometown. Read about Lower https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2016301/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-lower-m/.
-- Army Cpl. Joe T. Avant, 20, of Greenwood, Mississippi, was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, 31st Regimental Combat Team, engaged in intense fighting near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was reported missing and unaccounted for on Nov. 30, 1950. Avant will be buried Dec. 13, 2019, in his hometown. Read about Avant https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1958234/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-avant-j/.
-- Army Pfc. Karl L. Dye, 17, of Marion, Ohio, was a member of Battery B, 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, engaged in combat operations against North Korean forces, near Taejon, South Korea. In July 1950, he was seriously wounded by an enemy mortar shell and placed in an ambulance. The ambulance allegedly encountered an enemy roadblock. Dye was reported missing in action on July 16, 1950. Dye will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The date has not been set. Read about Dyehttps://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2011355/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-dye-k/.
-- Army Cpl. Leon E. Clevenger, 21, of Durham, North Carolina, was an infantryman with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 11, 1950, while involved in combat operations against the North Korean People’s Army in the vicinity of Chonui and Choch’iwon, South Korea. The Army amended his status to deceased in December 1953 when there was no updated information regarding his status. Clevenger will be buried in Mims, Florida. The date has not been set. Read about Clevenger https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2011184/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-clevenger-l/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Jack B. Van Zandt, 22, of Danville, Illinois, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. Van Zandt landed on the 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, including Van Zandt on the third day of the battle, Nov. 22, 1943. Van Zandt will be buried in Danville, Illinois. The date has not been set. Read about Van Zandt https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1978832/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-van-zandt-j/.