MIA Update - February 2, 2018

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced the identification and burial updates of seven American servicemen who had been missing in action from WWII and Korea. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:
-- Army Pfc. Lloyd J. Lobdell, 23, of Elkhorn, Wis., whose identification was previously announced, will be buried Feb. 2, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Lobdell was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, 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. Lobdell 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, Lobdell died on Nov. 19, 1942, and was buried along with fellow prisoners in the local Cabanatuan camp cemetery. Read about Lobdell http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1425098/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-during-wwii-lobdell-l/.
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard G. Cushman, 18, of Springville, Utah, whose identification was previously announced, will be buried Feb. 3 (rescheduled from Nov. 11, 2017) in Cypress, Calif. Cushman was assigned to Company A, 72nd Medium Tank Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On Dec. 5, 1950, his unit withdrew to the village of Kunu-ri, on the western side of the Korean Peninsula, under heavy attacks by Chinese forces. While in the village, a task force comprised of Cushman’s company and an infantry platoon were ordered to destroy a roadblock and eliminate enemy troops. Cushman could not be accounted for after the battle and was declared missing in action. Later, two returning American POWs reported that Cushman had died while being held by the Chinese. The Army subsequently declared him deceased as of March 31, 1951. Read about Cushman http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1425103/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-killed-in-korean-war-cushman-r/.
-- Army Sgt. Ollie E. Shepard, 22, of Hugo, Okla., whose identification was previously announced, will be buried Feb. 7 in Bradley, Okla. Shepard was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. In late November 1950, his unit was assembled with South Korean soldiers in the 31st Regimental Combat Team on the east side of the Chosin River, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by Chinese forces. Shepard was among more than 1,000 members of the RCT killed or captured in enemy territory and was declared missing on Dec. 3, 1950. Shepard’s name did not appear on any prisoner of war lists and no repatriated American POWs reported him as such. The Army declared him deceased Dec. 31, 1953. Read about Shepard http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1428529/funeral-announcement-for-soldier-missing-from-the-korean-war-shepard-o/.
-- Navy Seaman 1st Class Donald G. Keller was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored off Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when Japanese aircraft attacked his ship on Dec. 7, 1941. Keller was one of 429 crewmen killed in the attack. Interment services are pending. Read about Keller http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1426116/uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-keller-d/.
-- Navy Fireman 1st Class Leonard R. Geller was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored off Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when Japanese aircraft attacked his ship on Dec. 7, 1941. Geller was one of 429 crewmen killed in the attack. Interment services are pending. Read about Geller http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1429725/uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-geller-l/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Jack H. Krieger was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. On Nov. 20, 1943, Krieger's unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll against stiff Japanese resistance. Krieger died 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 Krieger http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1429603/marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-krieger-j/.
-- Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Eugene P. Ford was a member of the 765th Bombardment Squadron, 461st Bombardmhttp://www.dpaa.mil/News-Storie ... ford-e/ent Group, 15th Air Force. On Dec. 17, 1944, Ford’s B-24J, known as the Tulsamerican, led a group of six B-24s on a bombing mission targeting oil refineries at Odertal, Germany. After emerging from a cloud bank near the target, the aircraft were attacked by more than 40 German Me-109 and FW-190 fighters. Three of the six aircraft were shot down and the other three suffered damages. Ford’s plane was heavily damaged, forcing him to abort the mission and crash land in the Adriatic Sea near the Isle of Vis in present-day Croatia. Seven crewmembers survived and were rescued, but Ford and two others were killed in the crash. Interment services are pending. Read about Ford [url][/url].