MIA Update - March 25, 2024

[boardman]

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

-- Army Sgt. Richard G. Hammond, 24, of Northwood, New Hampshire, was assigned to Company A, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion. He went missing in action on Feb. 17, 1943. With no further evidence found, he was declared non-recoverable on June 1, 1949. He will be buried in his hometown on May 27, 2024. Read about Hammond https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3708080/tanker-accounted-for-from-wwii-hammond-r/.
-- Pvt. Harold O. Poulter, 23, of Charleston, Illinois, was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Feb. 8, 1945. He will be buried in Lerna, Illinois, on June 4, 2024. Read about Poulter https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3713709/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-poulter-h/.
-- Navy Seaman 2nd Class Michael Malek, 17, of Chicago, Illinois, 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. He was among 429 crewmen killed that day. He will be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 6, 2024. Read about Malek https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3709933/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-wwii-malek-m/.
-- Army Air Force 1st Lt. Richard J. Kasten, 24, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was assigned to the 68th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group. He was killed in action on Jan. 21, 1944. He will be buried in Battle Creek, Michigan, on a date to be determined. Read about Kasten https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3705860/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-kasten-r/.
-- Army Air Force 2nd Lt. Robert L. E. Porter, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He was killed in action on Feb. 24, 1944. He will be buried in Elmwood, Illinois, on a date to be determined. Read about Porter https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3707087/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-porter-r/.
-- Army Cpl. Julius G. Wolfe, 20, of Liberal, Missouri, was assigned to Company B, 149th Engineer Combat Battalion. He was killed in action en route to Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. He will be buried in his hometown on a date to be determined. Read about Wolfe https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3706654/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-wolfe-j/.
-- Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Jackson M. Barbour, 19, of Memphis, Tennessee, was assigned to the 401st Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force. He went missing in action on Dec. 20, 1942, and the War Department issued a finding of death on Dec. 20, 1943. He will be buried in his hometown on a date to be determined. Read about Barbour https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3708362/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-barbour-j/.
-- Army Pfc. Noah C. Reeves, 26, of Moulton, Alabama, was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 6, 1944, and declared non-recoverable in November 1951. He will be buried on a date and location yet to be determined. Read about Reeves https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3710164/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-reeves-n/.
-- Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Paul F. Eshelman Jr., 21, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was assigned to the 344th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. He was killed in action on Aug. 1, 1943. He will be buried in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, on a date to be determined. Read about Eshelman https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3711052/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-eshelman-p/.
-- Army Corporal Ray K. Lilly, 18, of Matoaka, West Virginia, was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He went missing in action on Nov. 2, 1950, and died while a prisoner of war in January or February 1951. He will be buried in Princeton, West Virginia, on a date to be determined. Read about Lilly https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3708495/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-lilly-r/.