MIA Update - September 6, 2022

[boardman]

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

-- Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. David M. Lewis, 20, of Dallas, was assigned to 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Lewis was piloting crashed as a result of anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. He will be buried in Saltillo, Texas, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Lewis https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3032525/pilot-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-lewis-d/.
-- Army Pfc. Worley D. Jacks, 21, of Rutland, Ohio, was assigned to Company L, 232nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Lichtenberg, France, when he was wounded and reported missing. With no body recovered and the Germans never reporting him as a prisoner of war, on Oct. 4, 1945, the War Department declared Jacks killed in action. He will be buried in Marion, Ohio, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Jacks https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3074966/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-jacks-w/.
-- Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Donald R. Duchene, 19, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was assigned to 344th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Duchene was a tail gunner crashed as a result of anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. He will be buried in Minneapolis on a date yet to be determined. Read about Duchene https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3135103/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-duchene-d/.
-- Army Pfc. Donald Hofman, 19, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. Elements of his unit were supporting five companies attempting to secure terrain near Reipertswiller, France, when they were surrounded by German forces. On Jan. 20, 1945, Hofman was killed as the surrounded companies attempted a break-out through German lines. His body could not be recovered due to the ongoing battle. He will be buried in Byron Center, Michigan, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Hofman https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3098273/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-hofman-d/.
-- Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Harold Kretzer, 32, was assigned to 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Kretzer was a gunner-engineer crashed as a result of anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. Interment services are pending. Read about Kretzer https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3140529/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-kretzer-h/.
-- Army Air Force Pvt. Joseph E. Lescaut, 21, was assigned to the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in 1942. He was among those captured and held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp, where he reportedly died on July 26, 1942, and was buried. Interment services are pending. Read about Lescaut https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3141333/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-lescaut-j/.
-- Army Sgt. Alfred H. Sidney, 23, was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on May 18, 1951, after his unit was attacked near Hangye, South Korea. Repatriated POWs reported he had been captured and held as a prisoner of war at Camp #1, where he died in July 1951. Interment services are pending. Read about Sidney https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3145343/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-sidney-a/.
-- Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Howard L. Dickson, 30, was assigned to 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Dickson was a gunner and instructor crashed as a result of anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. Interment services are pending. Read about Dickson https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3145391/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-dickson-h/.
-- Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. John F. Minogue, 24, was assigned to 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Minogue was the co-pilot crashed as a result of anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. Interment services are pending. Read about Minogue https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3145428/pilot-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-minogue-j/.
-- Army Master Sgt. Merritt L. Wynn, 31, was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On Nov. 26, 1950, he was reported as missing in action while fighting with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces east of Unsan, North Korea. As Wynn’s body was not recovered nor was he listed as a prisoner of war, he was declared nonrecoverable on Jan. 16, 1956. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Interment services are pending. Read about Wynn https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3145428/pilot-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-minogue-j/.