WASHINGTON, July 31, 2018 —Army Pfc. Leslie Shankles, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 12, 2018. In October 1944, Shankles was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. He was killed Oct. 14, 1944 by enemy fire in the Raffelsbrand sector of the Hürtgen Forest, near Germeter, Germany. DPAA is grateful to the Department for...
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WASHINGTON, July 31, 2018 —Marine Corps Cpl. Claire E. Goldtrap, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 1, 2018. In November 1943, Goldtrap was assigned to Company A, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to...
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WASHINGTON, July 31, 2018 —Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Robert L. Zehetner, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 20, 2018. In November 1943, Zehetner was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in...
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WASHINGTON, July 27, 2018 —U.S. Army Air Forces Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 27. In December 1944, Dickson was a pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, in the European Theater. On Dec.23, 1944, Dickson departed Ramitelli Air Base, Italy on an aerial reconnaissance mission toward Praha, Czechoslovakia. On his return, Dickson’s P-51D aircraft...
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WASHINGTON, July 27, 2018 —Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Merton R. Riser, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 20, 2018. In November 1943, Riser was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in...
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WASHINGTON, July 27, 2018 —Navy Carpenter's Mate 3rd Class William L. Kvidera, killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II, was accounted for on July 3, 2018. On Dec. 7, 1941, Kvidera was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits,...
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WASHINGTON, July 26, 2018 —Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Ottaway B. Cornwell, killed during World War II, has now been accounted for. On January 27, 1944, Cornwell was a member of the 4th Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, Twelfth (XII) Air Force, piloting a Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, which was shot down over Pierrefeu-du-Var, France. Cornwell was engaged in battle with a German Messerschmitt 109 (Me-109)....
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WASHINGTON, July 26, 2018 —Army Pvt. John B. Cummings, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 12. In December 1944, Cummings was a member of Company A, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, along the France and Germany border to reinforce the Alsace area. On Dec. 31, 1944, German troops crossed the Rhine River into France. As darkness fell, two member of...
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WASHINGTON, July 26, 2018 —Marine Corps Pfc. Robert K. Holmes, killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II, was accounted for on May 9, 2018. On Dec. 7, 1941, Holmes was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused...
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WASHINGTON, July 25, 2018 —Navy Aviation Radioman 3rd Class Walter E. Mintus, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 25, 2018. On July 27, 1944, Mintus was a radioman aboard a torpedo bomber from U.S. Navy Torpedo Squadron Fifty One (VT-51). Mintus’ aircraft was the lead of four Avengers on a mission targeting the Japanese base at Malakal Harbor. The aircraft was...
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