Kosa, Robert A.
Army Private 1st class

Robert A. Kosa from Ohio, Lorain county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, June 16, 1944
Death details: On May 17, 1944, U.S. and Chinese troops began the siege of Myitkyina, Burma. The town, which was occupied by the Japanese, possessed a strategically vital airstrip that would allow supplies and aerial support to reach troops fighting in difficult jungle terrain of the China-Burma-India Theater. While Chinese units comprised the majority of the ground combat troops, the U.S. Army’s 5307th Composite Unit, also known as Merrill’s Marauders, was also active in the fighting. The Japanese were able to defend the town until August 3, 1944, when their remaining men were ordered to withdraw. Hard fighting, difficult terrain, and the outbreak of disease led to significant casualties among the Chinese and American units that fought to take control of the town. Private First Class Robert A. Kosa, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with Headquarters Company, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional). He was killed in action on June 16, 1944, as his unit attacked Japanese positions near Namkwi, Burma, approximately four miles from Myitkyina. The active battlefield prevented the recovery of his body and after the war, U.S. military personnel searched the area thoroughly but did not recover PFC Kosa’s remains. Today, Private First Class Kosa is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency