Latest news with #DPAA
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remains of Ohio soldier, who died as WWII POW, found and being brought home
**Related Video Above: Remains of Cleveland WWII Airman was brought home after 80 years last year ELMORE, Ohio (WJW) — A northern Ohio man who died as a prisoner of war while fighting in WWII is finally being laid to rest in his hometown this summer, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said Friday. Remains of Soldier killed in WWII return to Freeport, Ohio and interred with full military honors U.S. Army Sgt. Howard Hasselkus, who was 24 years old at the time of his death, was reportedly accounted for in September 2024 but it was only recently that his family received a 'full briefing' from the government agency. Now his story is being released to the public. When Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in late 1941, Hasselkus was fighting with the 192nd Tank Battalion. By May of 1942, thousands of U.S. and Filipino military members were taken as prisoners of war following the surrender of Bataan, with Hasselkus being one of them. Hasselkus died Nov. 22, 1942, and was buried at Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in a common grave, according to camp records, the DPAA said. The American Graves Registration Service diligently worked to identify soldiers remains following the war, but Hasselkus was never found. 4 finally going home after WWII bomber crash left 11 dead and 'non-recoverable' Then in 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA scientists began looking into the remains still unidentified. Using anthropological, dental and DNA analysis, the team was able to find Hasselkus. 'Today, Hasselkus is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines,' the agency said in a statement. 'A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.' Hasselkus is being buried in Elmore, Ohio, in August. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Savannah man and World War II airman has been accounted for
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Former U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes, Jr., 22, of Savannah, Georgia, was accounted for today by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Lt. Hayes was killed during World War II. According to information released by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, in June 1944, Hymes was assigned to the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater. On June 20, Hymes, the navigator onboard a B-24J 'Liberator' bomber, went missing in action when his plane crashed into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark after colliding with another B-24 in the same formation. The pilot and co-pilot of Hymes' aircraft were able to bail out and survived, but all evidence points to the rest of the crew being killed in the crash. The U.S. War Department issued a Finding of Death for Hymes on June 21, 1945. In early 1948, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, investigated the crash, but was unable to find any of the missing crewmen. Over the next couple of years, the AGRC also assessed unidentified remains that washed ashore in the area where Hymes' aircraft crashed, but were not able to identify any of the crew. Hymes was declared non-recoverable on May 12, 1950. In 2019, Danish divers alerted the Royal Danish Navy to a WWII-era aircraft wreck in the general area where Hymes' aircraft crashed. A .50 caliber machine gun with a damaged serial number that partially matched the guns on Hymes' aircraft was recovered. In August 2021, after the Royal Danish Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal cleared the site of unexploded ordnance, DPAA partner University of Delaware, along with the Royal Danish Navy, returned to conduct an underwater survey. The survey found possible human remains as well as enough evidence to recommend the site for an archaeological excavation. From Sept. 21, 2022 to June 9, 2024, DPAA primary partner Trident Archäologie, along with Wessex Archaeology and volunteers from Project Recover, and with stakeholders from the Royal Danish Navy and the Langelands Museum, returned to the site to conduct further operations, during which they found further material evidence and possible remains. That evidence was also accessioned into the DPAA laboratory. To identify Hymes' remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome DNA analysis. Hymes' name is recorded on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Hymes will be buried in Thunderbolt, Georgia, on a date yet to be determined. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WWII pilot credited with saving airman's life is finally accounted for
A World War II pilot who was remembered for helping fellow servicemembers survive the plane crash that killed him has been accounted for, military officials said this week. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook, 23, of Georgetown, Texas, was a member of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), 10th Air Force during World War II, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. Before joining the military, McCook had graduated from Southwestern University and came from a family of pilots, according to local newspaper clippings gathered by the DPAA. McCook, nicknamed "Woody," served in China and Burma, according to newspaper clippings. He was one of 20 officers and enlisted men credited for a mission that air-dropped supplies to Allied forces battling Japanese troops in northern Burma. During his service, McCook received the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross, according to newspaper clippings. On August 3, 1943, McCook was the armor-gunner on the B-25C "Mitchell," conducting a low-altitude bombing raid over Meiktila, Burma, the DPAA said. The raid was meant to target the Meiktila dam and nearby Japanese barracks, according to a newspaper clipping. The aircraft crashed during the mission. McCook and three others aboard the plane died, but two men survived. One of the survivors, identified in newspaper clippings as Sgt. John Boyd, said the plane had been hit by an explosive gas shell while flying at a low altitude. McCook, who Boyd recalled "as the best in the business," was able to bring the damaged plane up to an altitude that allowed Boyd and the other surviving soldier to parachute from the craft before it crashed. Boyd said this action allowed him to survive. He and the other soldier were taken captive by Japanese forces, the DPAA said. Boyd spent two years as a prisoner in Rangoon before he was freed, according to newspaper clippings. McCook's remains were not recovered. He was eventually listed as missing in action. In 1947, after World War II ended, the American Grave Registration Service recovered four sets of remains from a common grave near a village in Burma, the DPAA said. Locals said the four sets of remains, designated X-282A-D, were from an "American crash," the DPAA said. But the remains were not identified at the time. They were interred as "Unknowns" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii. McCook's name was listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. In January 2022, the DPAA disinterred all four sets of remains and taken to the agency's laboratory. Dental, anthropological and isotope analyses were conducted. Other military agencies used mitochondrial DNA analysis and genome sequencing data to help identify the remains. The processes allowed the DPAA to identify one of the sets of remains as belonging to McCook. Now that McCook has been accounted for, a rosette has been placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing. He will be buried in his hometown in August 2025, the DPAA said. Sneak peek: Where is Jermain Charlo? Baldwin grills McMahon on unallocated funds for students, schools, approved by Congress Hegseth orders Navy to rename USNS Harvey Milk, Jeffries calls it "a complete and total disgrace"
CBS News
04-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
WWII pilot accounted for 82 years after being credited with saving airman's life in deadly crash
A World War II pilot who was remembered for helping fellow servicemembers survive the plane crash that killed him has been accounted for, military officials said this week. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook, 23, of Georgetown, Texas, was a member of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), 10th Air Force during World War II, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. Before joining the military, McCook had graduated from Southwestern University and came from a family of pilots, according to local newspaper clippings gathered by the DPAA. McCook, nicknamed "Woody," served in China and Burma, according to newspaper clippings. He was one of 20 officers and enlisted men credited for a mission that air-dropped supplies to Allied forces battling Japanese troops in northern Burma. During his service, McCook received the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross, according to newspaper clippings. On August 3, 1943, McCook was the armor-gunner on the B-25C "Mitchell," conducting a low-altitude bombing raid over Meiktila, Burma, the DPAA said. The raid was meant to target the Meiktila dam and nearby Japanese barracks, according to a newspaper clipping. 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency The aircraft crashed during the mission. McCook and three others aboard the plane died, but two men survived. One of the survivors, identified in newspaper clippings as Sgt. John Boyd, said the plane had been hit by an explosive gas shell while flying at a low altitude. McCook, who Boyd recalled "as the best in the business," was able to bring the damaged plane up to an altitude that allowed Boyd and the other surviving soldier to parachute from the craft before it crashed. Boyd said this action allowed him to survive. He and the other soldier were taken captive by Japanese forces, the DPAA said. Boyd spent two years as a prisoner in Rangoon before he was freed, according to newspaper clippings. McCook's remains were not recovered. He was eventually listed as missing in action. In 1947, after World War II ended, the American Grave Registration Service recovered four sets of remains from a common grave near a village in Burma, the DPAA said. A newspaper clipping describing 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook's heroic actions before the crash that took his life. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Locals said the four sets of remains, designated X-282A-D, were from an "American crash," the DPAA said. But the remains were not identified at the time. They were interred as "Unknowns" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii. McCook's name was listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. In January 2022, the DPAA disinterred all four sets of remains and taken to the agency's laboratory. Dental, anthropological and isotope analyses were conducted. Other military agencies used mitochondrial DNA analysis and genome sequencing data to help identify the remains. The processes allowed the DPAA to identify one of the sets of remains as belonging to McCook. Now that McCook has been accounted for, a rosette has been placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing. He will be buried in his hometown in August 2025, the DPAA said.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
World War II pilot from Georgetown finally accounted for
The Brief Georgetown pilot killed during World War II finally accounted for Charles W. McCook was killed in a plane crash in Burma McCook will be buried in Georgetown in August WASHINGTON - A Georgetown pilot killed during World War II has finally been accounted for, according to the U.S. government. What we know The U.S. Department of Defense's POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) says that 23-year-old Charles W. McCook, a first lieutenant in the Army Air Forces, was accounted for on April 18. McCook, who was from Georgetown, was killed during World War II. In summer 1943, he was a member of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), 10th Air Force. On Aug. 3, 1943, while he was the Armor-Gunner of a B-25C on a low-altitude bombing raid in Burma, his plane crashed. McCook was one of four killed; the two survivors were captured by Japanese forces. His remains were not recovered after the war, and he was declared missing in action. Dig deeper In 1947, four sets of remains, later designated X-282A-D, were recovered from a common grave near a Burmese village. Local witnesses said the remains came from an "American crash". The remains could not be identified at the time and thus were interred as "unknowns" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In Jan. 2022, all four sets of remains were exhumed and taken to the DPAA for analysis. Scientists then used dental, anthropological and isotope analysis to identify his remains. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA analysis and genome sequencing data. What's next McCook will be buried in Georgetown in August. His name was recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, along with others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to show he has been accounted for. The Source Information in this report comes from the US Dept of Defense's POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
