MIA Update - February 19, 2024

[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 the Korean War. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Marine Corps Sgt. Harold Hammett, 24, of Avery, Mississippi, was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. He was among 1,000 marines and sailors killed in action at the Battle of Tarawa, and reportedly died on Nov. 20, 1943. He was buried in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on Feb. 16, 2024. Read about Hammett https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3671973/marine-accounted-for-from-wwii-hammett-h/.
-- Army Tech. 4th Grade Elmo F. Hartwick, 38, of Onaga, Kansas, was assigned to Company C, 149th Engineer Combat Battalion. He was killed in action enroute to Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. He will be buried in his hometown on a date to be determined. Read about Hartwick https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3673780/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-hartwick-e/.
-- Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack W. Coy, 20, of Toledo, Ohio, was assigned to the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He was killed in action on Feb. 24, 1944. He will be buried in Oregon, Ohio, on a date to be determined. Read about Coy https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3673982/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-coy-j/.
-- Army Cpl. Charles R. Patten, 24, of Lebanon, Missouri, was a member of Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on July 20,1950, and the Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953. He will be buried in Lawson, Missouri, on a date to be determined. Read about Patten https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3673190/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-patten-c/.