Crette, Albert L.
Army Sergeant

Albert L. Crette from California, Santa Clara county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 16, 1942
Death details: On October 23, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Albert L. Crette, missing from World War II. Sergeant Crette entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from California and was a member of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, serving in the Philippines during World War II. After the fall of the Philippine Islands to the Japanese in spring of 1942, SGT Crette was among men taken as prisoners of war. SGT Crette was taken to Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp in Luzon, where he died of malaria on November 16, 1942. He was buried in a common grave at Cabanatuan along with seven other servicemen. Two individuals from this grave were identified after their initial disinterment from Cabanatuan. SGT Crette and four other servicemen from this common grave were identified in March of 1947, after being recovered and buried in Manila #2 Cemetery. In 2016, the DPAA disinterred an unknown set of remains that was recovered from SGT Crette’s common grave and subsequently identified them as the last unresolved casualty from that grave. During the identification process, laboratory personnel isolated additional portions of remains not belonging to that service member. These additional remains were identified as those of SGT Crette.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency