MIA Update - April 3, 2023

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced four burial updates 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 Staff Sgt. Edgar L. Mills, 25, of Tampa, Florida, was assigned to the 816th Bomber Squadron, 483rd Bomber Group, 15th Air Force. On July 18, 1944, Mills was an armorer gunner on board a B-17G that was shot down during a bombing raid on enemy aircraft and air defense installations around Memmingen, Germany. His body was not recovered, and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a finding of death on July 26, 1951. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Mills https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3341566/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mills-e/.
-- Army Air Forces Pvt. John W. Ropp, 31, of Sierra Madre, California, was a member of the 2nd Observation 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 and of Corregidor Island in May 1942. According to prison camp and other historical records, Ropp died on July 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. He will be buried in Camarillo, California, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Ropp https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3206162/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-ropp-j/.
-- Army Pvt. Leroy M. Slenker, 28, of El Segundo, California, was a member of the 75th Ordnance Depot Company when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in April 1942 and of Corregidor Island in May 1942. According to prison camp and other historical records, Slenker died on Nov. 15, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. He will be buried in Dixon, California, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Slenker https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3296438/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-slenker-l/.
-- Army Cpl. Carmen Carrillo, 20, of Lompoc, California, was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on May 17, 1951, after fighting against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces in Gangwon Hongchun, Republic of Korea. There was no indication his remains were recovered after the battle, and he was never recorded as a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953. He will be buried in his hometown on a date yet to be determined. Read about Carrillo https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3314798/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-carrillo-c/.