MIA Update - November 22, 2021

[boardman]

MIA Update:The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced three burial updates and two new identifications for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from World War II and Korea. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Army Cpl. Leon E. Clevenger, 21, of Durham, North Carolina, was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 11, 1950, while involved in combat operations against the North Korean People’s Army in the vicinity of Chonui and Choch’iwon, South Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. Clevenger will be buried on Dec. 11, 2021, in his hometown. Read about Clevenger https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2011184/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-clevenger-l/.
-- Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Charles McMackin, 26, of Boston, was assigned to 68th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which McMackin was serving as a bombardier crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. McMackin will be buried on April 14, 2022, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Read about McMackin https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2317559/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mcmackin-c/.
-- Army Sgt. Howard R. Belden, 19, of Hague, New York, was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined. Read about Belden https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2816347/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-belden-h/.
-- Army Air Forces 1st Lt. John J. Heffernan, Jr., 24, was assigned to 490th Bomb Squadron, 341st Bomb Group, 10th Air Force. On Feb. 22, 1944, the B-25G Mitchell bomber on which Heffernan was serving as a navigator burst into flames and crashed near Letpadaung. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. Interment services are pending. Read about Heffernan https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2842881/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-heffernan-j/.
-- Army Tech. Sgt. Ross H. Thompson, 50, was assigned to the Finance Department, U.S. Army Forces Far East, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in 1942. Thompson was among those captured and held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp, where he reportedly died on Dec. 10, 1942, and was buried. Interment services are pending. Read about Thompson https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2847343/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-thompson-r/.