MIA Update - May 22, 2023

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced three burial updates 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. Joe A. Vinyard, 23, of Loudon County, Tennessee, was assigned to Company A, 774th Tank Battalion, as a crewmember on an M4 Sherman tank. He went missing in December 1944 after his unit was engaged in battle with German forces. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death in April 1946. He will be buried in Maryville, Tennessee, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Vinyard [url][/url]
-- Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Robert C. Elliott, 24, of Plains, Kansas, was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the aircraft on which Elliot worked as an assistant engineer was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation Tidal Wave. He will be buried in his hometown on Aug. 1, 2023. Read about Elliott https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3399156/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-elliott-r/.
-- Army Pfc. Willard H. Brinks, 24, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. Brinks was reported as killed in action on Nov. 22, 1942. He will be buried in his hometown on May 19, 2023. Read about Brinks https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3115218/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-brinks-w/.