82 years later: WWII soldier buried in Louisiana

BOGALUSA, Louisiana (WGNO) – A Louisiana soldier who served in World War II but died as a prisoner of war was missing 82 years later.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 20-year-old U.S. Army Private First Class and Bogalusa resident Joseph C. Murphy was a member of Company I, 31st Infantry Regiment, in late 1942.

When Japanese forces entered the Philippines in December of that year, “intense” fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, and the island of Corregidor on May 6, 1942.

During the battle, Murphy and thousands of other U.S. and Filipino soldiers were captured and held as prisoners of war in camps such as the 65-mile-long Bataan Death Murphy and Cabanatuan POW Camp #1.

The Department of Defense leadership reports that over 2,500 prisoners of war died in the camps during the war. According to historical camp records, Murphy’s death was recorded on October 28, 1942, and he was buried along with other prisoners at the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 713.

Years after the war, employees of the American Graves Registration Service exhumed the bodies and transferred the remains to a makeshift U.S. military mausoleum near Manila.

AGRS officials began identifying the remains. Two of them were identified, but the rest were deemed unidentifiable and were buried as “unknown” at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, according to the DOD.

During the Cabanatuan Project in April 2019, DPAA scientists exhumed the remains of Common Grave 713 and used dental records, anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence to identify Murphy.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner also conducted a mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Currently, Murphy is being memorialized on the missing persons memorial plaque at MACM. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate that he has been found, according to Department of Defense officials.

Murphy will be buried in Bogalusa on August 3.

Latest Posts