MIA Update - November 14, 2022

[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 Air Force Staff Sgt. David E. Holeman, 39, of Le Harpe, Kansas, was assigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in April 1942. He was among those captured and held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp, where he reportedly died on July 19, 1942, and was buried. He will be buried on April 23, 2023, in Independence, Kansas. Read about Holeman https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3139179/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-holeman-d/.
-- Army Pvt. James R. Tash, 20, of St. Louis, Missouri, was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in April 1942. Tash was among those captured and held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp where he reportedly died on July 19, 1942, and was buried. He will be buried in St. Louis, Missouri on a date yet to be determined. Read about Tash https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3173219/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-tash-j/.
-- Army Sgt. Alfred H. Sidney, 23, of Littleton, New Hampshire, was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on May 18, 1951, after his unit was attacked near Hangye, South Korea. A repatriated POW reported Sidney had been captured and held as a prisoner of war at Camp #1 where he died in July 1951. He will be buried in his hometown on a date yet to be determined. Read about Sidney https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3145343/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-sidney-a/.
-- Army Air Force Cpl. Charles W. Eeds, 23, was assigned to the 48th Material Squadron, in the Philippines, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in April 1942. Eeds was among those captured and held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp where he reportedly died on July 19, 1942, and was buried. Interment services are pending. Read about Eeds https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3211823/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-eeds-c/.
-- Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 3 Larry A. Zich, 24, was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 37th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade. On April 3, 1972, the UH-1H Iroquois helicopter on which Zich was co-pilot departed on a combat support mission to Quang Tri City. During the flight, the pilot reported to a ground controller that he was lost. The team was reported missing when the helicopter failed to return to any air bases in South Vietnam, and aerial search was initiated but found nothing. Interment services are pending. Read about Zich https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3213117/soldier-accounted-for-from-vietnam-war-zich-l/.