Keating, Earl J.
Army Private

Earl J. Keating from Louisiana, Orleans county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, December 5, 1942
Death details: On August 21, 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Earl J. Keating, missing from World War II. Private Keating, who entered the U.S. Army in Louisiana, was a member of the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action on December 5, 1942, during the 126th Infantry’s engagement with Japanese forces at a position known as Huggins Roadblock in Papua (present-day Papua New Guinea.) He was buried with another service member near the roadblock. In 2011, an Australian citizen discovered partial human remains near Huggins Roadblock. In 2012, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Agency (JPAC, now DPAA) excavated the site and recovered human remains, which were later identified as those of Private Keating.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency