William G. Jr. Axton from Pennsylvania, Fayette county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 2, 1945
Death details: Finding of death; missing in action or buried at sea
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John W. Radanovich, age 24, from Michigan, Wayne county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 2, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert L. Schear, age 21, from Iowa, Franklin county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, November 30, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Hyman I. Wolfson from Massachusetts, Suffolk county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 8 Infantry 4 Division
Date of death: Friday, November 30, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Unaccounted For
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
George B. Thomas from Rhode Island, Providence county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, November 25, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Unaccounted For
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ernest Wilhoit from Kentucky, Henry county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 26 Infantry 1 Division
Date of death: Saturday, November 24, 1945
Death details: The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II, was fought between Allied and German forces from September 1944 to February 1945. As U.S. forces advanced eastward into Germany, the defending Germans manned “Siegfried Line” positions opposite the Belgian border. The battle grew to involve approximately 200,000 troops, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. American forces initially entered the area seeking to block German reinforcements from moving north toward the fighting around Aachen, the westernmost city of Germany, near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. In the battle’s second phase and as part of the Allied’s larger offense toward the Rhine River, U.S. troops attempted to push through the forest to the banks of Roer River. Aided by bad weather and rough terrain, German forces in the Hürtgen Forest put up unexpectedly strong resistance due to a well-prepared defense. American forces were unable to break through to the Rur before the German Ardennes offensive struck in December 1944, known as the Battle of the Bulge, which halted the eastward Allied advance until February 1945. Private First Class Ernest Wilhoit, who joined the U.S. Army from Kentucky, was a member of Company G of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, and took part in the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest. On November 23, 1944, members of Company G attacked German fortifications in the vicinity of Schevenhutte, Germany. Following the assault, Private First Class Wilhoit was reported missing, though the exact circumstances of his loss are unknown. Hostile presence in the area inhibited search efforts at the time, and attempts to locate or identify his remains after the war were unsuccessful. Today, Private First Class Wilhoit is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.
Cemetery: Unaccounted For
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Hampton Buzzard from Oklahoma, Sequoyah county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, November 18, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Netherlands American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Norman E. Thalman from California, Los Angeles county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 17, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Unaccounted For
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Myron E. Williams from Illinois, Champaign county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 12 Infantry 4 Division
Date of death: Saturday, November 17, 1945
Death details: On July 13, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Myron E. Williams, missing from World War II. Private Myron E. Williams entered the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of Company L, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On November 16, 1944, he was killed in action near Lendersdorf, Germany, during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. He was last seen entering a heavily mined wooded area that also came under heavy artillery fire. Private Williams’s remains were not recovered or identified following the war. In 1947, American Graves Registration Command retrieved a set of remains that were found southwest of Hürtgen near a German mine belt. The remains could not be identified at the time and were buried an unknown remains at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium. Eventually, a DPAA historian studied the available historical records surrounding this unknown set of remains. They recommended that the remains be disinterred for analysis using modern forensic techniques, and provided a list of potential candidates that the remains could be associated with. The remains were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory, where they were identified as those of Private Williams.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Harry W. Wilder from Colorado, Eagle county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 110 Infantry 28 Division
Date of death: Thursday, November 15, 1945
Death details: On November 26, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Harry W. Wilder, missing from World War II. Private Wilder entered the U.S. Army from Colorado and served in Company B, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. On November 14, 1944, he was reported missing after an action in the Hürtgen Forest near the towns of Vossenack and Germeer, Germany. In April 1947, an American Graves Registration Command investigator recovered a set of remains from the Raffelsbrand sector of the Hürtgen Forest. These remains could not be identified at the time and were eventually buried as unknowns at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium. In 2016, research by a DPAA historian and advances in forensic techniques prompted the reexamination of these remains, and Private Wilder was identified.
Cemetery: Accounted For
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency