MIA Update - November 7, 2022

[boardman]

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

-- Army Air Forces Cpl. Merle L. Pickup, 27, of Provo, Utah, was assigned to 308th Bombardment Group, 373rd Bombardment Squadron, stationed in Yangkai, China. In May 1944, he was a passenger on board a B-24J Liberator bomber on a ferrying mission from China to Chabua, Assam, India. The plane never reached its destination after encountering bad weather, and the Army reported the plane as missing. Pickup will be buried in his hometown on Dec.17, 2022. Read about Pickup https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3114036/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-pickup-m/.
-- Army Staff Sgt. Sanford I. Finger, 29, of Miami Beach, Florida, was assigned to U.S. Army Element Vietnam, Army Air Force Regional Exchange, Pacific Exchange, U.S. Army Headquarters Area Command. On Oct. 26, 1971, Finger was lost when the CH-47B Chinook helicopter on which he was a passenger went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam. He was not accounted for during search and rescue operations. His burial date and location have yet to be determined. Read about Finger https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3138077/soldier-accounted-for-from-vietnam-war-finger-s/.
-- Army Sgt. Howard G. Malcolm, 23, was assigned to Headquarters Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri, North Korea. Later findings indicated that Malcolm had been a prisoner of war and died at POW Camp #5 in August 1951. Interment services are pending. Read about Malcolm https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3201485/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-malcolm-h/.
-- Army Sgt. Allen H. Tuttle, 23, was assigned to Battery C, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, 8th U.S. Army. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit’s attempted withdrawal from Kunu-ri, North Korea, following the battle of Ch’ongch’on. Later findings indicated that Tuttle had been a prisoner of war and died at POW Camp #5 in March 1951. Interment services are pending. Read about Tuttle https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3205089/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-tuttle-a/.
-- Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. James M. Triplett, 36, was assigned to 700th Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force. On Sept. 27, 1944, the B-24H Liberator aircraft on which Triplett was serving as a radio operator crashed as a result of enemy fire during a bombing mission near Kassel, Germany. His body was unable to be recovered and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. A finding of death was issued by the War Department on Sept. 28, 1945. Interment services are pending. Read about Triplett [/url]https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3205218/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-triplett-j/[/url].
-- Army Air Force Pvt. John W. Ropp, 31, was assigned to the 2nd Observance Squadron in the Philippines, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in April 1942. Ropp was among those captured and held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp where he reportedly died on July 28, 1942, and was buried. Interment services are pending. Read about Ropp https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3206162/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-ropp-j/.