Wassil, Larry S.
Army Sergeant

Larry S. Wassil, age 33, from New Jersey, Essex county.

Service era: World War II
Military history: 13 Infantry 8 Division

Date of death: Thursday, December 28, 1944
Death details: On July 27, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Larry S. Wassil, missing from World War II. Sergeant Wassil entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and was a member of Company K, 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. On December 28, 1944, he led a three-man reconnaissance patrol near Bergstein, Germany. The patrol came under German machine gun fire, at which time the patrol members scattered to find cover. When the firing ceased, SGT Wassil could not be found. In 1952, local woodcutters found a set of remains near Bergstein. These remains were turned over to U.S. custody, but could not be identified at the time. After a multidisciplinary analysis, the DPAA determined that the unknown remains were likely associated with SGT Wassil. The remains were exhumed and accessioned into the DPAA laboratory in April of 2019. Laboratory analysis led to the successful identification of the remains as those of SGT Wassil.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency