MIA Update - April 17, 2020

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced four new identifications 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:

-- Marine Corps Pvt. Jack R. Stambaugh, 20, 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. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Stambaugh died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. He was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33. Interment services are pending. Read about Stambaugh https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2150435/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-stambaugh-j/.
-- Army Pfc. Anthony F. Mendonca, 28, was a member of Company A, 106th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, when American forces participated in the battle for Saipan, part of a larger operation to secure the Mariana Islands. Mendonca was killed during fighting on June 28, 1944. His remains were reportedly not recovered. Interment services are pending. Read about Mendonca https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2146867/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mendonca-a/.
-- Army Sgt. Billy V. Rodgers, 19, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. Interment services are pending. Read about Rodgers https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2146184/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-rodgers-b/.
-- 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 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942. 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/.