MIA Update - May 23, 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:

-- Army Cpl. R.B. Cherry, 19, was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 27, 1950, near Anju, North Korea. Using information provided by returned POWs after the war, it was determined that Cherry had been a POW in Camp 5 and died of pneumonia sometime in the winter of 1950. His remains were reportedly buried in a cemetery near the camp and were not recovered. Interment services are pending. Read about Cherry https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2193122/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-cherry-rb/.
-- Army Sgt. William E. Cavender, 20, was a member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 28, 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 Cavender https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2192973/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-cavender-w/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Mervin D. Galland, 24, 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. Galland 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 Galland https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2191552/marine-acccounted-for-from-world-war-ii-galland-m/.
-- Navy Fireman 1st Class Louis J. Tushla, 25, 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 Tushla. Interment services are pending. Read about Tushla https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2191277/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-tushla-l/.