MIA Update - April 9, 2020

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced two new identifications, and one burial update 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:

-- Army Pvt. Wayne M. Evans, 21, was a member of Battery G, 59th Coast Artillery Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1942. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942. Evans was captured and died as a prison of war. Interment services are pending. Read about Evans https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2138159/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-evans-w/.
-- Marine Corps Sgt. Donald D. Stoddard, 22, was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, 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. Stoddard died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Stoddard https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2138131/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-stoddard-d/.
-- Army Cpl. Ralph L. Cale, 19, of Covington, Virginia, was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. His remains could not be recovered following the attack and he was not reported as a prisoner of war. Cale will be buried Aug. 14, 2020, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Read about Cale https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1932911/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-cale-r/.