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Today I saw an interesting article on my phone news stating that a 2nd LT from WWII that crashed his P-47D in France while on a mission was positively identified.
In that article they stated that nearly 72,500 are still unaccounted for after all these years.
As a Vet ('66-72) I found this interesting.
While stationed in Germany in the late 1960s they found the bodies of two German soldiers buried in a collapsed bunker from WWII just outside of our missile battery in Bad Kissingen.
It was our understanding at the time that this type of discovery was common.
World War II Accounting
Battlefield interment of Marines lost during battle for Tarawa, November 1943
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. At the end of the war, there were approximately 79,000 Americans unaccounted for. This number included those buried with honor as unknowns, officially buried at sea, lost at sea, and missing in action.
Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from WWII.
Most of them will, unfortunately, remain unaccounted for. Witnesses die or memories fade, soil can be acidic, development can build right over sites, remains which are found may not be positively identifiable, records can be inconclusive, etc., etc.
The operation attempting to identify as many as possible is astounding, and it says a lot how many resources are devoted to it and how many remains have been identified. But it’s just an impossible task to get to 100 percent.
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Originally Posted by keninaz
Today I saw an interesting article on my phone news stating that a 2nd LT from WWII that crashed his P-47D in France while on a mission was positively identified.
In that article they stated that nearly 72,500 are still unaccounted for after all these years.
As a Vet ('66-72) I found this interesting.
While stationed in Germany in the late 1960s they found the bodies of two German soldiers buried in a collapsed bunker from WWII just outside of our missile battery in Bad Kissingen.
It was our understanding at the time that this type of discovery was common.
A lot of US Sailors and Airmen were unaccounted for, as often they were either lost with their ship or plane, a lot of these individuals are named on walls at places such as the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in England. ThE 5,127 named on the walls at the memorial but whose bodies were never recovered include;
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (1915–1944), eldest son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald (Memorial – Lost At Sea)
Glenn Miller (1904–1944), jazz bandleader and trombonist (Memorial – Lost At Sea)
Considering that many of the missing may have been lost at sea I doubt they will ever find those.
Fact is that I read occasionally that a plane from WWII is located in some remote area with bodies on board.
I doubt that all could ever be accounted for.
Even today, I see that the Vietnam era vets like myself have some 2500 missing.
Considering that many of the missing may have been lost at sea I doubt they will ever find those.
Fact is that I read occasionally that a plane from WWII is located in some remote area with bodies on board.
I doubt that all could ever be accounted for.
Even today, I see that the Vietnam era vets like myself have some 2500 missing.
I looked at the Korean War too and got this from the internet. I guess it's not accurate?
The U.S. listed about 1,350 Americans as prisoners of war or missing in action and roughly 1,200 Americans reported killed in action and body not recovered.
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