MIA Update - May 4, 2018

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced identification and burial updates for nine American service members who had been missing in action from WWII and Korea. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Marine Corps Reserve 1st Sgt. David H. Quinn, 24, of Temple, N.H., whose identification was previously announced, will be buried May 5 in his hometown. Quinn was assigned to Company C, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion (C-2d Amp Tr Bn), 2nd Marine Division. On Nov. 20, 1943, Quinn’s unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll against stiff Japanese resistance. Quinn was killed on the second day of the battle, one of approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors killed in the intense fighting. Read about Quinn http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1506748/funeral-announcement-for-marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-quinn-d/.
-- Marine Corps Reserve Cpl Raymond A. Barker, 22, of Evanston, Ill., whose identification was previously announced, will be buried May 5 in Delavan, Wis. Barker was assigned to Company C, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. On Nov. 20, 1943, Barker's unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll against stiff Japanese resistance. Barker was killed on the first day of the battle, one of approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors killed in the intense fighting. Read about Barker http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1506683/funeral-announcement-for-marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-barker-r/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Harold V. Thomas, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, whose identification was previously announced, will be buried May 7 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Thomas was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Thomas’s unit was one of those tasked with securing the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Encountering fierce resistance by the Japanese, almost 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and another 1,000 were wounded in the battle. Thomas was killed on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Read about Thomas http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1508361/funeral-announcement-for-marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-thomas-h/.
-- Army Pfc. Billy R. Ball, 20, of Matthews, Mo., whose identification was previously announced, will be buried May 4 in St. Louis. Ball was a member of Headquarters Detachment Philippines Department, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands on Dec. 8, 1941. After months of intense fighting, Corregidor fell and American forces surrendered on May 6, 1942. Ball was one of the thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members taken prisoner and eventually moved to Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the remaining years of the war. According to prisoner records, Ball died on Sept. 28, 1942, and was buried along with fellow prisoners in the local Cabanatuan camp cemetery. Read about Ball http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1506649/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-world-war-ii-ball-b/.
-- Army Cpl. Terrell J. Fuller was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, supporting Republic of Korea Army attacks against units of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces in an area known as the Central Corridor in South Korea. After enduring sustained enemy attacks, the American units withdrew to Wonju, South Korea. It was during this withdrawal that Fuller was reported missing as of Feb. 12, 1951. Interment services are pending. Read about Fuller http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1507887/soldier-captured-and-killed-during-the-korean-war-accounted-for-fuller-t/.
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Rufus L. Ketchum was a member of Medical Detachment, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. In late November 1950, his unit was assembled with South Korean soldiers in the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT) on the east side of the Chosin River, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by Chinese forces. Ketchum was among more than 1,000 members of the RCT killed or captured in enemy territory and was declared missing on Dec. 6, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read about Ketchum http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1506969/soldier-missing-from-the-korean-war-accounted-for-ketchum-r/.
-- Army Pfc. Oscar E. Sappington was a member of 3rd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 309th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division. On Jan. 10, 1945, the 309th Infantry launched a number of attacks in the Hürtgen Forest of Germany. At some point during the two days of action, Sappington stepped on a landmine. Though he was mortally wounded, no soldiers from his unit could reach him during the vicious fighting to render aid or confirm his death. He was reported missing in action as of Jan. 11, 1945. Interment services are pending. Read about Sappington http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1507882/soldier-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-sappington-o/.
-- Army Pvt. Kenneth D. Farris was assigned to Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On Nov. 28, 1944, Farris was wounded by artillery and left the front line for the battalion aid station. His regiment remained in combat for several more days, reaching the outskirts of Gey, Germany, before being pulled off the front line. When officers took an accounting of the surviving Company B soldiers, Farris could not be found. Interment services are pending. Read about Farris http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1508089/soldier-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-farris-k/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. William F. Cavin was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. On Nov. 19, 1943, Cavin’s unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll against stiff Japanese resistance. Cavin was killed on the first day of the battle, one of approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors killed in the intense fighting. Interment services are pending. Read about Cavin http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1511167/marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-cavin-w/.