MIA Update - February 7, 2020

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced three new identifications, and three 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. Marine Corps Pfc. Royal L. Waltz, 20, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Waltz died between the first and second day of the battle, Nov. 20-21, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Waltz https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2074089/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-waltz-r/.
-- U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. Oscar E. Koskela, 22, was a member of Headquarters Company, 29th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, when American forces participated in the battle for Saipan, part of a larger operation to secure the Mariana Islands. Koskela reportedly sustained wounds in combat and was taken onboard the USS Solace for treatment. He died onboard the ship on June 18, 1944. Interment services are pending. Read about Koskela https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2074061/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-koskela-o/.
-- U.S. Navy Chief Machinist’s Mate Lada Smisek, 42, served at the Naval Ammunition Depot and Submarine Base in Cavite, Philippine Islands, when Japanese forces invaded. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942. Smisek was among those reported captured after the surrender of Corregidor and held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. Interment services are pending. Read about Smisek https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2073986/sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-smisek-l/.
-- U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Hadley I. Heavin, 23, of Baxter Springs, Kansas, was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Heavin. He will be buried May 23, 2020, in his hometown. Read about Heavin https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2021923/uss-west-virginia-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-heavin-h/.
-- U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Rex E. Wise, 21, of South Haven, Kansas, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Wise. He will be buried April 22, 2020, in Braman, Oklahoma. Read about Wise https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2024444/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-wise-r/.
-- U.S. Army Cpl. Arthur C. Ramirez, 19, of Pima, Arizona, was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950, when enemy forces attacked his unit near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. His remains could not be recovered following the attack. Ramirez will be buried March 19, 2020, in Marana, Arizona. Read about Ramirez https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2062303/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-ramirez-a/.