The US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency aims to provide the fullest possible accounting for US missing military servicemen to their families and the nation.
The Agency works to identify the remains of personnel reported as missing in action and below you can find details of some of their recent discoveries. As of the end of August 2023, the US Defense Accounting agency successfully identified another 13 US soldiers.
Pilot Accounted for from Vietnam (Chipman, R.)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ralph J. Chipman, killed during Vietnam was accounted for Aug. 2, 2023.
In the winter of 1972, Chipman was assigned to Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 533, Marine Attack Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On Dec. 27, Chipman was piloting an A-6A Intruder, along with his co-pilot, during a nighttime combat mission over the northern part of the Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam. After entering the target area, Chipman’s aircraft ceased radio communications and never returned to base. Search and rescue teams could not locate any trace of the aircraft or the crew in the Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province. In July, 1974, the Marine Corps reported Capt. Chipman as Killed in Action.
Chipman’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTZDEA4.
Airman Accounted for from World War II (Kendall, W.)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Army Air Forces Sgt. Willard S. Kendall, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 13, 2023.
In February 1944, Kendall was assigned to the 32d Bombardment Squadron, 301st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. On Feb. 25 Kendall was a tail gunner on the B-17G Flying Fortress that was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on the Prufening aircraft factory in Regensburg, Germany.
Eight of the nine crewmembers bailed successfully before the plane exploded and crashed northwest of Krakaudorf, Austria. During the fighter attack, Kendall called over the interphone about five minutes before the bail-out order was given reporting that he had been hit. Before bailing out of the aircraft multiple crewmen saw Kendall had died at his tail gunner position and agreed he went down with the plane.
In July 1946, the 347th Quartermaster Battalion visited Krakaudorf, Austria after a local priest reported an American flier was buried in Grave 93 at the Krakaudorf Cemetery. The AGRC could not identify the remains, they were designated X-6853 St. Avold and transferred to the U.S. Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France in August 1946. Kendall was declared non-recoverable Sept. 22, 1950.
In the September 2017, the DPAA, sent an investigation team to Krakaudorf, after reviewing church records and eyewitness statements there was sufficient evidence to link Unknown X-6853 to Sgt. Kendall. In June 2019, X-6853 was disinterred from the Rhône American Cemetery and sent to the DPAA Laboratory for forensic analysis.
To identify Kendall’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Pilot Accounted for from World War II (McGuire, E.)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Edward T. McGuire, 22, of Chicago, Illinois, killed during World War II was accounted for June 30, 2023.
In the summer of 1943, McGuire served with the 415th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which McGuire was serving as a pilot, crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify McGuire’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Image Source:
- Pilot Accounted for from Vietnam (Chipman, R.): DPAA
- Airman Accounted for from World War II (Kendall, W.): DPAA
- Pilot Accounted for from World War II (McGuire, E.): DPAA
- Soldiers identified August 2023: DPAA
