Sixteen missing soldiers from World War II and Korea

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, 16 soldiers were counted as missing on Monday.

Seven of them had been Japanese prisoners of war in World War II, the remaining nine had fallen in the Korean War.

When the Japanese invaded the Philippines one day after Pearl Harbor, thousands of Americans and Filipinos were captured as prisoners of war. Sergeants Jack H. Hohlfeld, Charles E. Young Jr., and Sam A. Price had been sent to defend the island during the summer months before the invasion and fought alongside Corp. Raymond N. DeCloss, Privates Robert W. Cash and Jacob Gutterman, and Private Joseph C. Murphy. All were captured and likely participated in the 1942 Bataan Death March: a 65-mile march to Japanese prison camps during which thousands of soldiers were tortured and killed along the way.

The nine remaining soldiers died fighting against North Korean and Chinese forces during the 1950-1953 Korean War. Sergeants Clayton M. Pierce and Charles E. Beaty and Private William Colby went missing while their units were involved in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. They were reportedly killed in action.

Both Cpl. Jesse L. Mitchell and Sgt. John P. Rhyter were missing during the Battle of Ch’ongch’on River; Mitchell reportedly died in a North Korean prison camp.

The exact circumstances of the deaths of the remaining four are unknown. Cpl. Edward J. Smith, Sgt. Israel Ramos and Pfc. Charles A. Vorel Jr. were all reported missing somewhere in the mountains of South Korea. Sgt. Kester B. Hardman was reported missing in action in 1951, and North Korean officials announced in 1953 that he was being held as a prisoner of their army.

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The DPAA has not disclosed the specific identification methods used on these youngest soldiers, but their typical methods involve closely examining the mitochondria and isotopes still present in the remains and attempting to find distinguishable DNA data and assign a name.

After identification, the DPAA notifies the families of the fallen and thus enables a military burial.