The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Monday that 16 previously missing soldiers have been accounted for. Seven of the soldiers were prisoners of war held by the Japanese during World War II, while the remaining nine were killed in action during the Korean War.
The seven POWs were captured by the Japanese after the invasion of the Philippine Islands in 1942. They were likely subjected to the brutal Bataan Death March, a 65-mile trek to Japanese prison camps that resulted in the deaths of thousands of soldiers. The soldiers who were accounted for include Sgts. Jack H. Hohlfeld, Charles E. Young Jr., and Sam A. Price, as well as Corp. Raymond N. DeCloss, Pvts. Robert W. Cash and Jacob Gutterman, and Pfc. Joseph C. Murphy.
The nine soldiers who died in the Korean War were killed in action during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River, and other engagements. The DPAA did not release specific details on the circumstances of their deaths, but it is known that some of the soldiers were captured and held as prisoners of war.
The DPAA uses a variety of methods to identify the remains of missing soldiers, including the examination of mitochondria and isotopes to uncover distinguishable DNA data. Once a soldier is identified, the DPAA notifies their family and allows for a full military burial.
