WASHINGTON — The remains of a missing World War II soldier from Oregon have been identified and will be returned to the state for burial, federal authorities announced Thursday.
The remains of U.S. Army Private William Calkins have been identified after they were exhumed along with other unidentified soldiers at the American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines, the Defense Department said in a statement. Oregon Public Broadcasting.
The department’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, charged with recovering prisoners of war and missing service members, said Calkins was captured after U.S. troops in Bataan Province surrendered to Japanese forces. After the horrific 65-mile (105-kilometer) Bataan Death Marchhe was held at Cabanatuan POW Camp #1, where records indicate he died on November 1, 1942 at the age of 20. He was buried with other prisoners in what was known as Common Grave 704.
After the war, his remains were exhumed from the camp and moved to the Philippine capital, where they were buried as “unknowns” at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, the agency said. They remained unidentified until this year.
In 2018, in an effort to identify the unknown remains associated with Common Grave 704, the agency exhumed them again and sent them to a lab. There, scientists used DNA analysis and other techniques to identify Calkins’ remains.
A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing at the American Cemetery in Manila to mark his discovery, the agency said.
Calkins’ remains will return to Oregon in September, where they will be buried in Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland.