The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced on Feb. 6 that Cpl. Charles W. Eeds, 23, of Durant, Oklahoma, was accounted for on Oct. 25, 2022, according to an agency release.

Eeds was a member of the 48th Materiel Squadron, in the Philippines, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. He was taken following the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942.

Eeds was among the thousands taken prisoner reported. Those captured were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs died in the camp during the war.

Eeds died July 19, 1942, according to camp and other historical records. He was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the graves service examined the remains in an attempt to identify them.

A dozen sets of remains from Common Grave 312 were identified, but the remaining sets were declared unidentifiable, according to the release. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as unknowns.

In January 2018, Common Grave 312 remains were disinterred and sent to the accounting agency laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

To identify the corporal’s remains, scientists from the agency used anthropological and dental analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Armed Forces Medical Examiner System scientists also used mitochondrial DNA and dental analysis to confirm identity.

Eeds will be buried on May 19, 2023, in Norman, Oklahoma.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the agency’s website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Staff Sgt. Michael Uhrin, 21, of Metuchen, was assigned to the 369th Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 40th Combat Wing, 8th Air Force in the European Theater, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA.

On Oct. 14, 1943, Uhrin was the radio operator of a B-17F Flying Fortress bomber that was flying a mission to Schweinfurt, Germany, when it was shot down by enemy fighters near Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim, Hessen, Germany. The plane was among 60 lost during the mission. Surviving crew members said Uhrin was killed before the aircraft crashed and none of them saw him bail out.

His death was confirmed shortly after the crash, but there was no record of his burial location.

After the war, the American Graves Registration Command investigated near Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim, but couldn’t find any concrete evidence linking recovered remains with Uhrin. He was declared nonrecoverable in April 1955.

DPAA historians who are focused on air losses over Germany later located a set of remains that they said had a strong chance of being Uhrin’s. The remains — which were buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in Belgium — were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

DPAA scientists used dental and anthropological analysis to identify Uhrin’s remains, as well as circumstantial evidence, while scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System performed DNA testing. He was accounted for in May, but his family only recently received their full briefing on the case.

Uhrin’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the United Kingdom, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for, officials said.

Uhrin will be buried in Metuchen, though a date hasn’t been determined.

Note: This article was provided by the Associated Press.

The remains of Army Air Forces Pvt. Joseph E. Lescaut, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, were identified in August using mitochondrial DNA analysis as well as dental and anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a statement.

Lescaut, a member of the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, was reported captured when U.S. forces on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the agency said.

Thousands of captured U.S. and Filipino service members were subjected to a brutal 65-mile (105-kilometer) forced march and many were held at the Cabanatuan POW camp, where more than 2,500 POWs perished.

Lescaut died July 26, 1942, and was buried with other prisoners in Common Grave 225 of the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery, According to prison camp and other records.

Those buried there were exhumed after the war and moved to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. An attempt was made to identify the remains in 1947, but only three were identified and the rest were declared unidentifiable and buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

The remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred in March 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Lescaut will now be buried in Arlington National Cemetery at a date to be determined.

It will officially become the AETC ‘s 13th major installation Monday, the start of fiscal 2019.

The move aligns the wing more effectively with the resources and the organization needed for its core mission as a training base for MQ-9 Reaper and F-16 Viper aircrews.

“Our number one mission is developing combat-ready Viper and Reaper aircrew,” said Col. Joseph Campo, 49th Wing commander, in a news release. “This transition is only going to improve our ability to succeed in this endeavor.”

Holloman provides the nation with mission-ready MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators, F-16 pilots, an Air Transportable Medical Clinic and Base Expeditionary Airfield Resources assets. The wing also deploys combat-ready and mission-support forces to Air Force expeditionary operations and humanitarian efforts.

“The Fightin’ 49ers at Holloman have a long history of aviation excellence and service to our nation,” said Campo in the news release. “Our transition from Air Combat Command to Air Education and Training Command is going to improve our ability to forge combat airpower for the United States while aligning our wing under the experts for training and education in the Air Force.”

As the nation observed Memorial Day on Monday, so did President Trump. Below are Trump’s tweets he sent on Memorial Day from @realDonaldTrump related to the observance:

When seven airmen died in a fiery helicopter crash in Iraq on March 15, the commander of the men in an accompanying helicopter knew he had to get them home as soon as possible.

Lt. Col. Tim Hanks, who heads the 308th Rescue Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, pushed and pushed until he received authority to pull the airmen out of the combat zone.

They were out of Iraq and back at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida within 72 hours.

The airmen in the second HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter had tried to land for 40 minutes, as their friends were trapped in the burning wreckage below, and Hanks was worried about how that trauma would affect some of the Air Force’s most elite airmen.

The Tampa Bay Times spent time with the returning airmen and the trauma expert called in to help them. The paper describes in detail how the surviving airmen coped with the trauma. Read the story here.

Seven airmen died in the deadly Pave Hawk crash. Two of them, Master Sgt. William Posch, 36, and Staff Sgt. Carl Enis, 31, belonged to the 308th Rescue Squadron.

Posch and Enis were both pararescuemen.

The other men who died were:

• Capt. Mark Weber, 29, a combat rescue officer assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron.
• Capt. Andreas O’Keeffe, 37, of the New York National Guard’s 101st Rescue Squadron.
  
• Capt. Christopher Zanetis, 37, also of the Guard’s 101st Rescue Squadron.
  
• Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso, 39, of the Guard’s 101st Rescue Squadron.
  
• Staff Sgt. Dashan Briggs, 30, of the Guard’s 101st Rescue Squadron.
  

Well, there was a building there.

In an Army video released on Feb. 8, a building identified as an “ISIS-K fighting position” is in the cross hairs of an airstrike during an Afghanistan commando offensive in the Mohmand Valley, Nangargar province. The airstrike comes as U.S. bombing in Afghanistan has recently expanded toward the Chinese border, with an increased emphasis on airpower.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for the move itself, courtesy of the Military Times Insurance Guide and other sources.

1. Limited liability. Your goods are insured during a traditional permanent change-of-station move, but only to a point: If there is a total loss and you’re transporting more than the allowed weight (based on paygrade), your insurance plan may be required to pick up a portion of the reimbursement.

2. PPM 101. You may be eligible for up to $25,000 worth of service-provided insurance for your personally procured move (formerly known as a do-it-yourself, or DITY, move). But that money won’t cover everything: Be especially aware of high-value items, and check your auto insurance to ensure it will have your back if there are mishaps involving your car, truck, trailer or anything else you’re using on the road during the move.

3. Know your policies. Many military movers take high-value items to their next station themselves, skipping the moving truck. But if those treasures are stolen from your car, don’t expect auto insurance to cover it: You’ll need to rely on your homeowners’ insurance. Be sure it will cover high-end items, or consider personal property insurance for the items themselves.

4. Storage savings? Check with your insurance company to see whether the car you’re putting in storage, or leaving with a friend or family member, may qualify for a lower insurance rate. And do your research to find out what “storage” means, both to your insurer and to the state where your car’s being kept: Leaving a vehicle behind with a friend who may drive it on occasion might keep the car in working order, but it likely won’t qualify for an insurance break.

5. Keep the receipts. You’ve likely heard from multiple PCS advice guides that a full inventory ― complete with serial numbers, purchase price, photo documentation and so on ― is critical for any post-move claims. But that paperwork, no matter how thorough, does no good if it’s moved along with the items that get lost. Regardless of where you keep your list, or in what format, keep copies … and keep those papers (or thumb drives) away from the moving truck.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the request Tuesday evening, saying Trump wants the Pentagon to “explore a celebration” that will allow Americans to show appreciation for the military.

A Pentagon spokesman, Charlie Summers, said Pentagon officials are aware of the request and are “looking at options.”

What do you think?

Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sat down the other day with Defense News’ Aaron Mehta for the television show Defense News Weekly.

It was a wide-ranging interview covering topics including foreign affairs, his time in office and military readiness. But he also expressed an assessment of President Donald Trump’s first year in office.

Watch the video above and then let us know what you think below: