Chapter 5 – Death and Burial

We judge the greatness of a nation by the way its people care for their dead.

After your Silent Hero died during the conflict, the government of the United States of America put forth

great effort to recover his remains and then attempt a fully positive identification. Along with proper

burials given to every service member, those practices were meant to help the living heal their pain. On

all theaters of operations, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) 1 was given the task to

gather, identify, collect personal effects, and care for the dead with the creation of over two hundred

temporary military cemeteries between 1941 and 1948. In the aftermath of the most costly battles, it

became impossible to immediately build permanent cemeteries overseas due to the indeterminate

length of the war and also because of the high number of isolated graves. In Europe, it took over three

years for the AGRC to clear all the beaches, churchyards, and fields of their American graves.

By 1947, the U.S. government launched the repatriation plan giving American families four choices:

A burial in a permanent American military cemetery overseas;

A burial in a private cemetery in the United States;

A burial in a private cemetery in a foreign country (homeland of the deceased);

A burial in a national cemetery in the United States.

View this movie here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1ZfQC-eM4beNEZkY1NkQ0E4a3M/view?usp=sharing

Unfortunately, not all service members’ remains could be identified or recovered. Today, according to

the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), 73,000 servicemen remain unaccounted for from

World War II. 2 This number includes those buried with honor as unknowns, officially buried at sea, lost

at sea, and missing in action. Whether your Silent Hero’s remains were recovered or not, your objective,

throughout the following chapter, will be to reconstruct the context of his death and understand how he

was memorialized after he gave the ultimate sacrifice.

1 Until September 1945, the AGRC was called the American Graves Registration Service. 2 http://www.dpaa.mil/Our-Missing/World-War-II/

In 1946, the War Department made a 15 minute long movie meant to inform the next of kin about their options regarding their loved

ones’ final resting place. This film, titled “Decision,” is available at the National Archives under the local identifier 111-M-1317. NARA

1. Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs)

(For World War II Army Air Force personnel only)

Available at the National Archives and Records Administration facility at College Park, MD under the

Record Group 92 (Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774 – 1985), the series

consisting of Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) is related to Army Air Force planes (and occupants) that

were officially declared destroyed or missing in action during World War II. The basic document in each

case file is usually the MACR form (AFPPA-14). For military personnel the information on the form covers

their full names, grades, army service numbers organizations, and home stations. For civilians, if any, the

information on the form covers their full names, positions, and employers. For the aircraft, it covers the

date and hours the plane was lost and classified by the commanding officer as lost. Also contained on the

MACR form is a statement that the emergency addressee of each occupant had been notified or that the

home station commander had been requested to make such notification. Some reports include the name

or names of persons with some last knowledge of the aircraft. Few MACR forms contain all of this

information, especially those prepared in 1943 and 1947.

In addition to the MACR form, MACRs include one or more other kinds of documents. Often present is

an "Individual Casualty Questionnaire" (AFPPA-11) completed by a witness to the loss of a single crew

member. After listing the name, rank, serial number, and crew position of the casualty, and the number,

date, and destination of the mission, the respondent, who was not a crew member himself, indicated

when and where the airman bailed out of the plane and where he was last seen. Another kind of

document found in many case files is the "Casualty Questionnaire" (AFPPA-12), which, unlike the

"Individual Casualty Questionnaire," was completed by a member of the crew who survived the crash or

loss of the aircraft and who responded to questions concerning the flight itself and all the remaining

members of the crew. Many files also contain at least one "statement," a brief narrative account of the

occurrence, signed by a member of the crew or an eyewitness to the crash.

Other records that you may find in the case files include aerial photographs of the crash site and of the

aircraft, annotated maps of the flight pattern and the location of the crash, and related correspondence.

Files documenting losses of aircraft over German occupied Europe often include German documents,

mostly Luftgaukommando reports captured at the close of World War II, or English translations of

extracts from these documents. These records often indicate which, if any, crew members survived and

the place of their incarceration. In addition, the burial location of dead airmen is sometimes given.

How to order MACRs ?

Records in this series have been digitized and are available online through NARA’s partners

(Footnote.com and Fold3.com) for a fee. The digitized records on Footnote.com are available free of

charge in all NARA Research Rooms, including those in NARA’s regional archives and Presidential

Libraries.

National History Day has access to Fold3.com. Feel free to contact Dr. Antonin Dehays, National History

Day’s lead historian, to request a digitized copy of a MACR. (antonin@nhd.org)

Example: MACR 5563 provides lots of vital

information about the crash of 1st Lieutenant

William S. Marchant’s aircraft on June 10, 1944 in

France. Along with the MACR form (AFPPA-14) is an

"Individual Casualty Questionnaire" (AFPPA-11) and

an annotated map featuring the location of the

crash.

Today William S. Marchant rests at the Brittany

American Cemetery, France. NARA via Fold3.com

2. Marine Corps Casualty Indexes, 1940-1958

The United States Marine Corps casualty cards were issued when a Marine was wounded, missing, killed,

or deemed a prisoner of war. The content of the casualty cards was made accessible courtesy of the

Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia. It is an interesting tool that provides some information

regarding your Silent Hero’s unit and the location of his death. If your Silent Hero served in the Marine

Corps:

1. Go to www.ancestryk12.com.

2. In the upper banner, click on “Search” and select “Military.”

3. In the column titled “Featured data collections,” click on “View all in card catalog.”

4. Look for “Marine Corps Casualty Indexes, 1940-1958.”

5. Enter the first name, last name, and the year of death of your Silent Hero.

Then, click on “Search.”

Click here.

Enter date of death.

Enter full name.

John Wesley Smith (Serial Number 426194)

was killed in action on December 17, 1943 in

the Salomon Islands area. He was serving in

C Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Marine

Regiment, 3rd Marine Division.

3. Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF)

Since so many Official Military Personnel Files were destroyed in the 1973 fire in St. Louis, Individual

Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs) are available for researching and reconstructing the military service of

any Silent Hero who died in World War II. Those files were compiled after the death of a serviceman by

members of the American Graves Registration Command. Their task was to identify, collect personal

effects, and bury the remains of the dead laying on the battlefield (including the enemy). An IDPF usually

contains a battle casualty report, telegrams, a report of death, a report of burial, several inventories of

personal effects, a disinterment directive, details about the disposition of the deceased veteran's

remains, and correspondence with the family regarding the burial of the veteran. 3

How to request an IDPF?

IDPFs are free. However it takes an average of six to eight months to receive your file. To request an IDPF

your can use the sample letter provided here and fill in as much information as possible. You also have

the option to email the letter to Fort Knox: usarmy.knox.hrc.mxb.foia@mail.mil

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

ATTN: AHRC-PAO (Dept. 103)

1600 Spearhead Division Avenue

Fort Knox, KY 40122

“Dear Staff,

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby make a request for the IDPF for my

below listed Silent Hero who died while serving in the military during World War II.

Serviceman’s name:

Branch of Military:

Military Service Number:

Unit:

Date of Birth:

Date of Death:

Buried:

Relationship to deceased: None. Educational project “SILENT HEROES” (National History

Day)

Please, be advised that I would appreciate receiving a digitized version (PDF format) of this

IDPF.

Sincerely.

Your name

Name of your school”

3 Often, a report of burial will provide vital clues such as the location and cause of death.

Report of burial (Form Number 1) filled out by a member of the American Graves Registration Service on July 9, 1944. It

shows that Technician fourth grade John J. Conover (35453266) served with Hq & Hq Battery, 377th Parachute Field Artillery

Battalion (101st Airborne Division). He was killed in action in Normandy on June 8, 1944. On July 9, 1944, his remains were

exhumed from a French cemetery coded 333-117 [Octeville l’Avenel, Normandy] and transferred to Ste. Mère Eglise

temporary cemetery number 2. According to this report, his body was decomposed and no personal effects were collected. U.S. Army Human Resources Command

TIP: Once you receive your Silent Hero’s IDPF (PDF file), print it, no matter how lengthy, and

place it in chronological order.

Above: Battle casualty report sent by the War

Department to Mrs. Clara M. Brown, John J. Conover’s

mother. She was notified of her son’s death on July 25,

1944. U.S. Army Human Resources Command

Left: Correspondence sent on November 20, 1944 by

Mrs. Clara Brown to the Quartermaster General’s Office

in Washington, DC, asking for the location of her son’s

burial site in Normandy. U.S. Army Human Resources Command

Request for disposition of remains filled out in 1947 by Mrs. Clara M. Brown, John J. Conover’s mother,

requesting to the Quartermaster General’s Office that her son’s remains should be returned to the United

States at Highland Cemetery, Fort Mitchell, Covington, Kentucky. U.S. Army Human Resources Command

The Disinterment directive shows that T/4 John J. Conover was initially buried at Ste Mère Eglise temporary cemetery n°2, France.

He was Protestant. His remains were exhumed on April 30, 1948. There was no coffin at that time, only a jump suit and a pair of

combat boots. His remains were at a stage of advanced decomposition and his left femur was fractured. After being prepared and

placed in a wooden container on May 4, 1948, John Conover’s remains were placed in a casket properly marked on May 6, 1948.

The back side of the above Disinterment directive indicates that the casket was convoyed by truck to a collecting point at Cherbourg

harbor. On June 17, 1948, the casket was on board USAT Greenville Victory and sailed to New York. Then transferred onto a train,

the casket made its way to Covington, Kentucky, on June 28, 1948. U.S. Army Human Resources Command

4. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans and Headstone and

Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil

1. Go to www.ancestryk12.com.

2. In the upper banner, click on “Search” and select “Birth, Marriage & Death.”

3. Enter the first name, last name, date of birth, and state of your Silent Hero.

Then, click on “Search.”

4. Among the options available, look for “U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-

1963” or “U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-

1949.” Make sure that your Silent Hero’s information is correct and click on the records you want to see.

Click here.

Enter date of

birth.

Enter full name.

Enter state.

Click here.

Verify this.

5. Once you have reached the page containing some personal information, click on “View” to see the

original document.

Click here.

Headstone Applications for Military Veterans.

2nd Lieutenant Lloyd M. Evers (0-1293739)

enlisted on September 21, 1941. He belonged

to Hq & Hq Co, 502nd Parachute Infantry

Regiment (101st Airborne Division) when he

was killed in action on June 6, 1944. His

remains were repatriated and buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery in Montpelier, Indiana.

His father, Walter Evers, applied for the

headstone on January 22, 1949.

Headstone and Interment Records for U.S.

Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil.

Captain Arthur J. Leonard (0-416736), from

Pennsylvania, served with the 26th Infantry

Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, when he was

killed in action on July 3, 1944. His remains

were buried at temporary cemetery coded

3582 [St. Laurent N°1], then transferred to a

permanent cemetery coded 3505 (St. Laurent).

Captain Leonard was a recipient of the Silver

Star medal (SS) and the Purple Heart (PH).

5. Online Databases

a. Findagrave.com

1. Go to http://www.findagrave.com/

2. In the right column, click on “Search 153 million grave records.”

3. Enter your Silent Hero’s name and date of death.

4. Click on your Silent Hero’s memorial page.

TIP: Once on your Silent Hero’s memorial page, if some pictures are available, try to contact

the person who posted those photographs. He or she may have more information to share.

b. Fields Of Honor

This database includes 22,000 memorial pages of American servicemen who were buried overseas either

at Ardennes American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, or Netherlands American

Cemetery.

http://www.fieldsofhonor-database.com/

Enter full name.

Enter date of

death.

6. Obituaries and posthumous awards

Search for any obituary generally published as soon as your Silent Hero’s family was notified by the War

Department of the death of their loved one. In other cases, articles would also announce some citations

for awards received posthumously. Public libraries and local newspapers will potentially hold those

records.

Left: Article published in December 1944 mentioning the heroic action of Lieutenant

Jack Irvine Jr. who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal. Denver Daily Post

Below: On July 23, 1944, the Salt Lake Tribune released the names of nine men from

Utah state how were killed in action or missing in action overseas. The Salt lake Tribune