MIA Update - November 6, 2020

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced two new identifications for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from World War II. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Army Cpl. Paul W. Wilkins, 19, was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 11, 1950, when his unit was fighting enemy forces near Choch’iwan, South Korea. He was never found, nor were any remains recovered that could be identified as Wilkins. The Army declared a presumptive finding of death for Wilkins on Dec. 31, 1953, and he was declared non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956. Interment services are pending. Read about Wilkins https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2402872/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-wilkins-p/.
-- Navy Coxswain Paul L. Boemer, 21, 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 Boemer. Interment services are pending. Read about Boemer https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2396791/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-boemer-p/.