U.S. Army Experts Search in CR for Missing WWII Soldiers

September 12, 2011

U.S. Army experts looking for the information at the presbytery in Decin.

crew of a B-24 Liberator named the "Flying Finger"

The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking information on missing American veterans of the Second World War who were last known to be in the Northern Bohemia Region. The United States is committed to locating and identifying all Americans who died in the service of their country. One of the investigators from the U.S. Department of Defense visiting the Czech Republic, Lt. Col. James McDonough explains their mission.

In recent years, the United States Congress passed laws stipulating that the Department of Defense do more to recover its missing soldiers from past wars.  Prior to these laws being passed, the U.S. Department of Defense concentrated its efforts on recovering missing soldiers from the Vietnam War and more recent wars.  World War II and the Korean War were not a major focus.  There are still over 73,000 missing Americans from World War II (by some calculations there are over 80,000).  Many of these missing are in countries, such as the Czech Republic, in which the U.S. government had limited access from 1947 until the early 1990s.  We are now trying to catch up on work that was left unfinished, and it is for this reason we are returning to parts of Central and Eastern Europe.  

With respect to remains recovery, the U.S. government has visited the Czech Republic several times in recent years.  Four of these visits were focused on archival research and site visits to reported gravesites.  For instance, an effort was made in 1996 to recover PFC Lawrence Ordway from a Dablice cemetery in Prague, but the remains in the location believed to be his grave could not be matched scientifically with his medical record.  Another more recent visit, involved the recovery of additional remains from the crew of a B-24 Liberator named the "Flying Finger". I say "additional" remains because most the remains were recovered after the war, so the crewmembers are not missing.  

Whenever an investigative team believes it has found a U.S. grave it makes submits its research and evidence to a board of military leaders, laboratory scientists, and archeologists.  This board reviews the report to determine if the evidence is sufficient to merit excavation.  If it is, the host nation is contacted by the U.S. embassy, which request the host government's permission to excavate.  If the host nation grants permission, an excavation team is sent to perform the recovery operation.  If remains are found, they are compared to the records of the missing.  If the remains compare favorably, the U.S. government seeks permission from the host nation to ship the remains to a laboratory in Hawaii. There scientific analysis is used to positively identify the remains.  When positive identification is made the Department of Defense notifies the family, and makes arrangements to bury the soldier with full military honors.

Usti nad Labem Region, Czech Republic

The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking information pertaining to missing American veterans of the Second World War who were last known to be in the Usti nad Labem Region.  Three men were prisoners of war who worked near Kamenisky Semov and are known to have died in a German reserve hospital under the German name Wilsdorf Lazarett, near Decin.  While they are believed to have been properly buried in a local cemetery – then called the Bodenbach Cemetery – their exact grave locations has been lost to time.  A fourth man is known to have been buried in the vicinity of Vernerice, although his grave location is unknown.  A fifth man went missing near Terezin.  If you have information pertaining to American or unknown foreign burial locations from the Second World War, please contact the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation in Prague via phone, (420) 257-022-429, or email, kralovak@state.gov.

Liberec Region, Czech Republic

The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking information pertaining to a missing American veteran of the Second World War who was last known to be in the Liberec Region.  The soldier was a prisoner of war who worked and died near Ceska Lipa in May 1945.  He is believed to have been properly buried in a local cemetery but his exact burial location has been lost to time.  If you have information pertaining to American or unknown foreign burial locations from the Second World War, please contact the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation in Prague via phone, (420) 257-022-429, or email, kralovak@state.gov.

Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic

The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking information pertaining to a missing American veteran of the Second World War who was last known to be in the Moravian-Silesian Region.    The soldier was an airman whose plane crashed near Radun in August 1944.  Four other crewmen were killed in the crash, were buried by locals, and later recovered by the American government but this man’s location remains unknown.    If you have information pertaining to American or unknown foreign burial locations from the Second World War, please contact the Office of Defense Cooperation in Prague via phone, (420) 257-022-429, or email, kralovak@state.gov.

While the U.S. government does not pay for information that leads to the recovery of its missing soldiers, the gratitude of the American people and the families of those who gave their lives during the Second World War is a reward beyond price.