WFI Research Group

12 FEBRUARY 2017Because of the response to the recent AP articles concerning the USS Turner, we have added a new page to the site which covers all Navy ships that have similar circumstances. The list covers all ships that do not have an individual web page on this site.

02 January 2017

We have added a new page to clear up much of the misinformation that surrounds the West Loch disaster casualties. Hope it helps.

27 Nov 2016

The page has been simplified and updated but they are still 2,084 names short.

12 November 2016

We have just submitted three more Hellcat pilots for identification. 

 Lt.(jg) Billy R. Apgar from Hamilton, Ohio, and Ensign Robert T. Dyer from Belchertown, Massachusetts. Both were attached to VF-46 aboard the USS Independence and went missing on 3 June 1945 while flying a combat air patrol mission in the vicinity of Okinawa.

     Their remains were found and recovered during 1948 on Amani-o-shima, a nearby island. They were initially buried in the Island Command Cemetery on Okinawa as unknowns 8078 X-290 and X-291 but were later transferred to the American Battle Monuments Commission Cemetery in Manila section N row 2, grave 34 and section H, row 2, grave 134 respectively.

 Ensign Eugene E. Mandeberg of Detroit, Michigan, a Hellcat pilot lost on 16 August 1945,  attached to VF-88 flying off the USS Yorktown in the vicinity of Atsugi Airfield, Japan. His body was recovered and identified after the war but because the Army only had circumstantial evidence that the remains were his, the family refused to accept the identification and the remains were buried as unknown 5325 X-341 in Yokohoma, Japan, but were later transferred to the American Battle Monuments Commission Cemetery in Manila section C, row 12, grave 43.

The sad part about the case is that the Army had conclusive evidence of the identification but didn’t realize it.Like all military aircraft the F6F had both a military serial number (Bureau #) and a manufacturer’s serial number. In the Mandeberg case the Bureau number of the aircraft was 77449 while the manufacturer’s number was #8603. This information was contained in the original report by the Army.

11 Novermber 2016

Changes have been made to the USS Pollux, Truxtun and Turner pages to explain the missing sailors that were actually buried in the Long Island National Cemetery as "unknowns". They should have been placed in group burials at the very least. Navy is claiming that they don't have the records. Saddest part is that the next of kin were never told about the graves. We are presently working on the remaining uknowns in that cemetery. More soon.

7 OCTOBER 2015
As our European research continues more information is becoming available. The sad story of the USS LST-282 and her 39 missing crewmen appears on it's own page. More to follow.

There have been numerous events over the past year that warrant mentioning in this column. The first in order of importance was the joining of forces with Kuentai-USA. This move combines the computerized research data from us with the proven field capabilites that they possess. Since November we have worked on plans for field recoveries in the Philippines, Guam and the Marianas while continuing to resolve unknown cases.

Next in line is that we were able to identify four more unknowns. They are all Marines. Their stories appear on the Memorial Day page. Many more could have been added to that list but the Army continues to be slow in providing IDPFs when requested. Of the 200+ that we ordered last July, only one has been received. We have 1,468 unknowns tentatively identified but we are awaiting the IDPF's. Maybe by next year we'll get them.

Since January we have conducted a complete review of the DPAA database. It is horrible to say the least. For example, in their latest update 28 January 2015, they are listing 3,046 Marines as missing. But from that number you would have to deduct the three sailors who belong on the US Navy listing, Kennedy,John J 2125637, Wright,Robert A 1344234 and Wronski, Edward F 7259398. Next you have to deduct the five that were actually buried. Next you have to deduct the 67 from the list that were buried at sea and were never missing. This would make their total 2,971. However, there are 47 names that are missing from their listing for various reasons. The actual total for missing Marines is 3,018. All of the other branches have similar problems. Needless to say their buried at sea rosters are equally screwed up. Please read the DPAA Database page on this web site for more information concerning the background and shortcomings of their MIA database.

Lastly we are adding a "Frustration" page to the web site. If you have a documented case and have reached the point of total fustration with JPAC or the DPMO/DPAA please let us know about it.

21 March 2015
The DPAA has put their database back on line. As suspected it is just the old DMPO file with all of the mistakes and mis- information still included. Really sad that after 70 years they still can't tell us who is actually missing.

30 November 2014
We are embarking on a joint effort to resolve as many MIA cases in the Pacific as possible in the next several years. We recently combined our efforts to circumvent JPAC and the DPMO in getting our first body identified. More to follow.

It has been a busy year with the move to Virginia and setting up a new office. Our projects fell somewhat behind but we are back on track now.

The Memorial Day page has been updated for this year. Several cemetery photos have been added to that page. We have just finished work on several more missing Marine cases and they will be added to the site shortly.

The review of the DPMO database is still in progress. I expect it to last until the end of the year. There are thousands of errors to be corrected. Obvisously that office is no more efficient than JPAC when it comes to handling our war dead.

1 July 2013

We all remember the scandal at Arlington that Made the headlines a few years back. Things were so bad that the Director turned in his resignation. Well I am happy to write that the new guy has made a hell of a difference.

They have released a new database to aid in locating the bodies of those buried there. For the last several months we have been reviewing the database on an individual level. For the WW2 period there should have been 6,200 names and they were close, only missing 543 of them. Doesn't sound good? Well remember the old National Cemetery Administration records covered less that 2,500 of the names so there is a great improvement.

You can view the site at;

http://public.mapper.army.mil/ANC/ANCWeb/PublicWMV/ancWeb.html

If you are looking for a name and can't find it in the database, just send me an email and I'll see if we have the information here.

Another Memorial Day is upon us. A time to remember those that gave their lives to preserve our freedoms. Although it commemorates all of those lost in America's conflicts, our interest here begins and ends with the World War II period.

It has been 68 years since the war ended. It was the second deadliest conflict in our history surpassed only by the Civil War. 406,881 American lives were lost. Of that number, 72,916 Armed Forces members are still listed as missing. Since the identification and repatriation efforts ended in the mid-1950's, a total of 810 MIA bodies have been recovered and returned to their families. That averages out to less than 14 bodies a year. With well over a billion dollars expended for recoveries of our war dead we have little to show for it. If I had to vote for one government agency that should have been sequestered it would be the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC).

In the last three years since the databases have been completed our research has led us to open 824 cases for possible identification. At the very least the families will have access to all of the facts surrounding the loss of their loved ones. This effort has not cost the American taxpayer a dime. We still survive on donations.

For an alphabetical listing of the 824 names please visit;

http://wfirg.com/memorial_day

Please pass this email on to all of the people you know that may have an interest.

Please visit the tribute page for a short film clip on Lt. Hariis an his widow's sad story.

10 November 2012

Another proud anniversary for the Corps. After years of combat our troops are finally coming home. The fighting in Southwest Asia has added a new chapter to our history, but it has come at a very high price.
Marines have been dying for this country for a long time. Our tradition is to never leave our dead or wounded behind. But this a a tradition that appears to be coming to an end.
Today is the third birthday that has come and gone without the return of four of our Marines from Saipan. Although the Corps would never leave them behind, the US Army and more recently JPAC, has no qualms in doing so. The four case histories were turned into JPAC years ago and they continue to ignore them.
Are these the only four left behind? Not hardly. Over the next year we are going to list all of the Marines that are MIA from WW II because of the Army. The listings will start with the Tarawa losses on the 20th of this month.
If you are a Marine, a former Marine, retired Marine or just care about Marines, please take the time to read the Saipan Project history and comment in our guestbook. Your opinion does matter.

We are also adding a MIA Database page which shows a side by side comparison between the DPMO and the WFI Research Group MIA databases. We'll let the readers decide which is more useful.

27 August 2012

Over the paste 21 years we have gained a vast amount of data concerning the missing Americans from World War II. Over 9,000 of them were buried as unknowns around the world. As the new policy is to forget about them, we are going to begin releasing the stories behind thse tragedies, the people involved and where the bodies are buried. We may not get them home, but they will not be forgotten. This is the first of the articles.

3 August 2012

We were finally notified this week that we had won the appeal against the VA and the National Cemetery Administration. Took them two years but now we can move forward. We had previously been denied the records concerning four graves of unknown sailors that are buried in the Long Island National Cemetery. The four graves contain the bodies of crewmen from the USS Turner (see US Turner page). This now completes our records for the unknowns in that cemetery. Besides the four graves associated with the USS Turner, there are 33 graves containing crewmen from the USS Pollux and USS Truxtun (see ship pages) diaster and a merchant marine/Navy Armed Guard crew from the SS J.H. Senior.

13 June 2012- Today marks the one years anniversery of Tracy Penny delivering to JPAC a CD containing the case files of four unknown Marines from the battle of Saipan. All of the files required to make the dental identification were delivered- ONE YEAR AGO- in JPAC's latest update they stated they are awaiting the records that they already have! Some one want to tell me again how they are doing all they can to get the WW 2 dead home?

NOTE: In early July 2010, we finished work on four unknowns that are buried in the Long Island National Cemetery. Although the headstone list the name as unknown, the date of death is given. The date coincides with the loss of the USS Turner (DD-648). It is our belief that the four graves contain all of the recoverable remains of the 136 missing crew members from that ship.

10 JULY 2010

On this date, under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, I requested the records pertaining to four unknownsailors buried in the Long Island National Cemetery. In August, I was informed by Raynell D. Lazier, Chief Executive Correspondence & FOIA, that they had no records on the four unknowns.
This was disturbing on several points. First, the National Cemetery Administration doesn't know who is buried in our National Cemeteries. Second, the four are listed on the Nationwide Grave Site Locator maintained by that agency.
On 30 August 2010, I appealed their decision to the Office of the General Counsel, Mr. Robert Johnson. Unfortunately, there is no time element involved on an appeal. It has been nearly two years and the case is still not resolved.