MIA Update, November 9, 2018

[boardman]

MIA Update: This week, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced one new identification, and the burial date and location for four previously identified servicemen. Returning home with full military honors are:

-- Army Air Forces Pfc. Joseph I. Natvik, 20, of Madison, Wis., whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Nov. 25 in Columbus, Wis. Natvik was a flight engineer assigned to the 1330 Army Air Force Base Unit, Air Transport Command. On July 17, 1945, his aircraft crashed in a remote area en route from Jorhat, India, to Hsinching, China. All four passengers were declared deceased after an extensive search effort failed to identify the crash site. Read about Natvik http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1684684/funeral-announcement-for-airman-killed-during-world-war-ii-natvik-j/.
-- Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Robert L. Zehetner, 19, of Brooksville, Fla., whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Nov. 30 in Bushnell, Fla. Zehetner was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Zehetner died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. His name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, along with others who are missing from World War II. Read about Zehetner http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1684714/funeral-announcement-for-marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-zehetner-r/.
-- Marine Corps Sgt. Dwight W. Randall, 22, of Fresno, Calif., whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Nov. 20 in his hometown. Randall was a member of Company C, 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 secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Randall died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Read about Randallhttp://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1684516/funeral-announcement-for-marine-killed-during-world-war-ii-randall-d/.
-- Navy Molder First Class Kenneth B. Armstrong, 36, of Seattle, whose remains were previously identified, will be buried Nov. 30 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Armstrong was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored off Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when Japanese aircraft attacked his ship on Dec. 7, 1941. Armstrong was one of 429 crewmen killed in the attack. Read about Armstrong http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/Article/1684703/funeral-announcement-for-uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-armstro/.
-- Navy Seaman 1st Class Kirby R. Stapleton was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The battleship sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Stapleton. Interment services are pending. Read about Stapleton http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1679947/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-stapleton-k.