This past Saturday was the 83rd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor signaling the United States’ official entry into World War II. In memoriam, we look at the final days of some of the MIAs from that war who have finally been recovered from the Pacific and European Theaters.

The first story is about the lost crew of the B-24H Liberator, the Little Joe (#42-521850).

The U.S. Army Air Forces crew of ten were assigned to the 732nd Bombardment Squadron, 453rd Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force. They had taken off April 8, 1944, from Royal Air Force Station Old Buckenham, England on a bombing mission seeking enemy targets in Brunswick, Germany. Somewhere over the Salzwedel, Germany area, the Little Joe suddenly went missing from formation. The other planes didn’t see a hit, crash, or bail out; it just disappeared.

The region between Salzwedel and Wistedt was riddled with downed bombers, but the Little Joe didn’t appear on the AGRU (American Graves Registration Unit) KU (Germany's aircraft combat records) detailing a crash or burials. None of the crewmembers were recovered during or shortly after the war, so all ten were officially listed as Unaccounted For for several decades - until very recently.

In 2015, MAACRT (Missing Allied Aircrew Research Team), an independent research group, contacted the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) with information remembered by local elders living near Wistedt, Germany regarding two old crash sites. Only one site was located post-War, but the DPAA investigators found wreckage and osseous remains at the second site off the new tip. At the time no matches could be made to Unknowns.

In 2021 and 2023, DPAA investigators returned to the second site for additional excavation for equipment and any osseous remains; the results were again sent to their laboratory. This time, using DPAA scientists’ anthropological and dental analysis, and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s mtDNA and Y-STR analysis, some positive identifications were made.

Hailing from Colorado, Staff Sargeant Ralph Lavon Mourer was the 23-year-old radio operator aboard the Little Joe. On June 20, 2024, his status was officially changed to Accounted For. A rosette indicating this change was placed on Mourer’s name inscribed on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Netherlands.

Walls of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Netherlands

Mourer’s parents, siblings, and wife were all long deceased with burial sites in various States. His only child, Victor Lavon Mourer, whom his wife was carrying when SSG Mourer was killed, was also long gone, buried at Adrian, Michigan’s Oakwood Cemetery. In the spring of 2025, SSG Ralph L. Mourer will likewise be buried in Adrian near the son he never got to see.

22-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Francis E. Callahan of New York was the navigator of the Little Joe. His remains were also identified by the DPAA through dental and anthropological evidence from the second crash site. Once he was Accounted For June 20, 2024, a rosette was added next to his name on the Walls of the Missing in Margraten. A 2025 burial at Arlington National Cemetery is planned per a New York newspaper report (Livingston County News, 8/13/24). As with most of his crewmates, Callahan’s immediate family is deceased.

Sargeant Henry Hanes Allen, Jr., 20, of Georgia was the Little Joe’s top turret gunner. His identification was released June 20, 2024, and his status changed to Accounted For; a rosette was added next to his name in Margraten. Allen’s mother swore until the day she died in 2003 that “he might walk through that door.” Eighty years later, his cousins finally laid Henry to rest October 12, 2024, back home in Covington, GA.

Staff Sargeant Hubert Yeary, 20, of Virginia was the baby-faced ball tail gunner of the bomber. Herbert and his twin brother, Herbert, enlisted together in January 1943. Yeary was positively identified June 20, 2024, and a rosette added next to his name in Margraten showing he was Accounted For. With his parents and four siblings, including Herbert (d. 1998) all long deceased, no burial time or location has yet been announced. Once the plans are known, the DPAA will release the information to the public.

Little Joe’s left waist gunner was Technical Sargeant Sanford Gordon Roy, 31, from Tennessee. Roy was quite a bit older than the rest of his crew and was also an aviation mechanic. His remains were Accounted For June 24, 2024, and a rosette added to his name on the Walls of the Missing. There was already a memorial cenotaph at Chattanooga’s Greenwood Cemetery, but T/Sgt Roy’s actual funeral with full military honors will take place at Greenwood on the 81st anniversary of his death, April 8, 2025 (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 11/27/2024). His great nephews, great nieces, and great- great niece will be in attendance to welcome him home.

T/Sgt Sanford Roy and crewmates atop the newly painted Little Joe

The pilot of the Little Joe was 1st Lieutenant Joe Allen DeJarnette of Kentucky. On April 8, 1944, he was last witnessed piloting the bomber “at 1405 hours near Salzwedel.” He was likewise Accounted For June 24, 2024, and a rosette added next to his name in Margraten. Joe’s parents, two sisters, and naval ensign brother are all deceased. There are no burial plans at this time, but hopefully he can be returned by a distant relative to his family resting place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Erlanger, KY.

Little Joe’s co-pilot was 2nd Lieutenant Robert D. McKee, hailing from Oregon. McKee was Accounted For June 24, 1944, and a rosette affixed next to his name in Margraten. His mother and two siblings are deceased; there is no burial information for 2LT McKee at this time.

The bombardier aboard the Little Joe was 2nd Lieutenant John Harvey Harris, a happy 23-year-old from North Carolina. Harris was Accounted For June 20, 2024, and a rosette was added next to his name in Margraten. Although he came from a large family, his parents and seven siblings are also deceased. 2LT Harris’ nephew was there to welcome him recently to Fort Jackson National Cemetery in Columbia, SC, where he received a funeral with full military honors on November 19, 2024.

The cases for the two still Unaccounted For members of the Little Joe are now listed as Active Pursuit: Staff Sargeant Sidney A. Johnson, 23, the right waist gunner from California and Sargeant Frank J. Vincze, 29, the tail gunner from Pennsylvania. With the DPAA’s success in finding and identifying the original eight men of the crew, we can only hope that they can soon do the same for these two brave airmen and return them home.

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U.S. Army Private First Class Gordon N. Larson, 22, of Washington was a member of Battery B, 59th Coast Artillery Regiment. U.S. Army Private James S. Mitchell, 25, of California, was of Company B, 31st Infantry Regiment, and also stationed on the Bataan peninsula. On April 9, 1942, Larson and Mitchell were among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the infamous 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the War. According to prison camp and other historical records, Larson died Nov. 14, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 723. Mitchell followed on Jan. 7, 1943, and was buried in Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 816.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan Cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Of the sets of remains from the Common Graves, neither were identified. The unidentified remains were then buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.

In 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, the DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Graves 723 and 816 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Larson’s (8/12/2024) and Mitchell’s (9/30/2024) remains, scientists from the DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Although interred as Unknowns in MACM, Larson’s and Mitchell’s graves were meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Today, both men are memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. Rosettes will be placed next to their names to indicate they have been Accounted For.

PFC Gordon Larson’s and PV2 James Mitchell’s funeral locations and dates have yet to be determined.

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U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sargeant Yuen Hop, 20, of Sebastopol, California, was assigned to the 368th Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 1st Bombardment Division, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater. On December 29, 1944, Hop was a waist gunner on a B-17G Flying Fortress when his plane was hit over Bingen, Germany and the crew were forced to bail. One died at the scene, and five were captured and became POWs but survived the War. Hop, and two other crewmen, were Unaccounted For.

AGRC continued to hunt for the three missing crew members 1946 – 1950, but finally ceased after their investigations were deemed complete; the three were then officially listed as Non-recoverable.

In 2013, DPAA researchers working with local Germans recovered documents from the state archive at Koblenz, which appeared to contain information on the loss of three captured airmen. These documents referenced War Crimes case #12-1254, which indicated Hop was captured and killed by German SS troops near the town of Kamp-Bornhofen and buried in the local cemetery there. This was the first time the three had been referred to as German POWs.

Between May 2021 and August 2022, DPAA teams excavated a suspected burial site in the Kamp-Bornhofen Cemetery, where the three airmen were believed to be buried. Under the supervision and direction of two Scientific Recovery Experts, the team recovered possible osseous remains and associated materials. These items were transferred to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis and identification.

To identify Hop’s remains (6/18/2024), scientists from the DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Hop’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France. A rosette was placed next to his name to indicate he had been Accounted For. A memorial cenotaph bears his name at San Francisco National Cemetery.

SSG Yuen Hop’s funeral location and date have yet to be determined.

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Massachusetts local star athletes and best friends, U.S. Army Air Forces Private 1st Class Bernard J. Calvi, 23, and U.S. Army Air Forces Corporal William Edward Gilman, 24, enlisted together September 14, 1940. Both men were assigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, and stationed near Manila.

BFFs Bernard Calvi and William Gilman enlisting

On April 9, 1942, they were among those captured when U.S. forces surrendered to the Japanese. They too were subjected to the Bataan Death March and then held at POW Camp 1 at Cabanatuan. PV2 Calvi was the first to die, on July 16, 1942. CPL Gilman followed his buddy 40 days later, on August 25; both died of dysentery and malnutrition. Calvi was buried in Common Grave 316, but Gilman’s actual grave site was unknown; his status is currently listed as Active Pursuit.

PV2 Calvi was Accounted For September 16, 2024, by the DPAA and a rosette placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing. His remains were sent from the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines to North Adams, Massachusetts. His funeral service with full military honors takes place at noon today, December 10, 2024, at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, 84 years after Bernard and his best friend, Bill Gilman, left town to go serve their country together and, ultimately, die together.

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After the DPAA positively identifies remains, they remand custody to the respective branch of service. In the instances above, because the U.S. Air Forces was then a branch of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army’s Past Conflicts Repatriation Branch (PCRB) and U.S. Army Human Resources Command were tasked with repatriating the recovered personnel. Each branch of the military has a similar mortuary office and protocol for handling newly Accounted For service members.

An enormous amount of research is undertaken to locate their surviving family members. In the case of World War II and Korean War personnel, oft times the immediate family is also deceased, and distant kin is searched for. An important line at the bottom of each DPAA recovery announcement reads: If you are a family member of this service member, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

In the event that no one comes forward to claim their recovered kin, the appropriate mortuary affairs branch then has the authority to inter the personnel in the closest national (military) cemetery to their last known home address.

Whether it is a relative that is finally sent their loved one for burial in their family plot, or the U.S. military installing them in a national cemetery with full honors, our fallen are treated with the greatest respect and dignity that can be afforded for their ultimate sacrifice.

CREDITS: Thank you to Marty Eddy, Michigan Coordinator, National League of POW/MIA Families

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