In Memoriam

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World War II

Missing WWII Soldier is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Pfc. James C. Konyud, of Cleveland, will be buried on Sept. 25 in his hometown. From mid-September 1944 to early February 1945, the Army was engaged against German forces in the Hürtgen Forest, along the Germany/Belgium border, in the longest continuously fought battle in American history. In early January 1945, elements of the 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division were deployed defensively in the area southeast of Aachen. Konyud, a member of K Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, was reported missing near the location on Jan. 1.

In 2007, a German explosive ordnance disposal team working in an agricultural field between Vossenack and Hürtgen, found human remains and military-related equipment, including Konyud’s military identification tag. The remains and items were turned over to Army Memorial Affairs Activity-Europe officials for further analysis.

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) teams traveled to excavate the site twice in 2007 and once in 2008, recovering additional remains and other military-related equipment, including a second identification tag for Konyud.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of Konyud’s brother and niece, in the identification of his remains.

More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.

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World War II

Missing WWII Soldier is Identified in Germany

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Sgt. Edward T. Jones, of West Pawlet, Vt., will be buried on Sept. 25 in Saratoga, N.Y. In November 1944, the 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division was traveling east through the Hürtgen Forest in an attempt to capture the German towns of Vossenack and Schmidt. On Nov. 6, Jones and five other members of A Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, were killed in the town of Kommerscheidt when a German tank fired point-blank on their position.

In 2008, a German explosive ordnance disposal team, working at a construction site in the town of Kommerscheidt, found fragments of a World War II-era U.S. military boot. The team notified the German War Graves Commission who recovered remains of two individuals at the site and military equipment including two identification tags. The items were turned over to a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team in the area for further analysis.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC used dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

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23 September 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Rosa, 20, of Swanton, Vt., died Sept. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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England

RAF helicopter pilot Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his heroic actions whilst on operations in Afghanistan.

Ministry of Defence statement

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England

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal Matthew Thomas, from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was killed in the Garmsir district of Helmand province on Saturday 25 September 2010.

Ministry of Defence statement.

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Denmark

Pvt. Simon Mundt Jorgensen

From: Denmark
Age: 21
Unit: Kompagnie C, Den Kongelige Livgarde (Company C, The Royal Life Guard)
Died: September 22, 2010

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a dismounted patrol south of Patrol Base Bridzar, nearly four miles (six km) northeast of Gereshk, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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24 September 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Clinton E. Springer II, 21, of Sanford, Maine, died Sept. 24 in Kabul, Afghanistan, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y