MIA Update - November 21, 2022

[boardman]

MIA Update:The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced four burial updates 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. Tommie T. Hanks, 27, of Fort Worth, Texas, was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On Nov. 26, 1950, he was reported missing in action while his unit was attempting to withdraw from east Ch’ongch’on River near Anju, North Korea. Following the war, his remains could not be recovered and there is no evidence that he was a prisoner of war. Hanks will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Hanks https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3118520/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-hanks-t/.
-- Army Pfc. Francis P. Martin, 25, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Lichtenberg, France, when he was wounded and reported missing. With no body recovered and the Germans never reporting him as a prisoner of war, on Jan. 17, 1946, the War Department issued a finding of death. Martin will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Martin https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3076921/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-martin-f/.
-- Army Staff Sgt. James Rotunno, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in the Battle of Reipertswiller in France when it was surrounded by German forces. On Jan. 20, 1945, his unit and four other companies attempted a break-out through German lines. Rotunno was among those killed the following day and his body could not be recovered. He will be buried in Rutherford, New Jersey, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Rotunno https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3178798/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-rotunno-j/.
-- Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Walter Nies, 23, of Eureka, South Dakota, was assigned to 96th Bombardment Squadron, 2nd Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. On Jan. 24, 1944, the B-17F Flying Fortress bomber on which he was serving as a tail gunner was shot down by enemy fighters. The crew was captured by Germans, and Nies was among those sent to Stalag Luft 6 prisoner of war camp. Nies died on May 28, 1944, after being shot. He will be buried in Eureka, South Dakota, on a date yet to be determined. Read about Nies https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3129993/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-nies-w/.