MIA Update - January 14, 2017

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced the identification of remains of nine Americans who had been missing in action from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:
-- Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Sidney A. Cook was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Cook's unit was one of those tasked with securing the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Encountering fierce resistance by the Japanese, almost 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and another 1,000 were wounded in the battle. Cook was killed on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... fied-cook/.
-- Marine Corps Cpl. Walter G. Critchley was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. On Nov. 20, 1943, Critchley's unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll against fierce Japanese resistance. Critchley was killed on Nov. 20, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... critchley/.
-- Marine Corps Reserve 2nd Lt. Ernest Matthews was assigned to Headquarters Company, Headquarters Battalion, Division Special Troops, 2nd Marine Division. On Nov. 20, 1943, Matthews' unit landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Matthews was among approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors killed in the intense fighting. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... -matthews/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. James O. Whitehurst was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. On Nov. 20, 1943, Whitehurst's unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll against stiff Japanese resistance. Whitehurst was killed on the first day of the battle, one of approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors killed in the intense fighting. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... hitehurst/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Larry R. Roberts was assigned to Special Weapons Group, 2nd Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force. Roberts' unit landed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll on Nov. 20, 1943. After five days of intense battle against the Japanese, Roberts was declared killed in action on Nov. 25, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... d-roberts/.
-- Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Charles E. Carlson was a P-47 pilot with the 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force. Carlson was shot down south of Bonn, Germany, during an air battle between American and German pilots on Dec. 23, 1944. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... d-carlson/.
-- Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William J. Gray was a member of the 391st Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Group. In April 1945, Gray flew his single seat P-47D aircraft on a dive-bombing mission in the vicinity of Lindau, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. After strafing a truck, Gray's aircraft clipped a tree and crashed. Gray was declared killed in action on April 16, 1945. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... fied-gray/.
-- Army Sgt. James W. Sharp was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. In late November 1950, his unit was assembled with South Korean soldiers in the 31st Regimental Combat Team on the east side of the Chosin River, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by Chinese forces. Sharp was among 1,300 members of the RCT killed or captured in enemy territory and was declared missing on Dec. 6, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... ied-sharp/.
-- Marine Corps Reserve 1st Lt. William C. Ryan was an F-4B radar intercept officer with the Marine Fighter Attack Force 115, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force Pacific. While pulling out of a bombing pass over Savannakhet Province, Laos, Ryan's aircraft was hit by enemy fire. Ryan failed to eject and was declared deceased as of May 11, 1969. Interment services are pending. Read more at: http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent ... fied-ryan/.