Closed MIA Cases

These stories are from cases that we have closed over the years. They are taken from our files and case notes. Not the flowery writing editors look for in a story but it will give the reader the opportunity to see just what happens in the course of one of our investigations.

A special thanks to Nicholas Schmidt for providing the photo of the McVay casket arriving at Pensacola.

Lt. Woodie Lackland McVay 

The USS Yorktown and VF-5 sailed away to fight other battles as the war continued. The Navy took no further action until 15 January 1946 when both aviators were declared dead in accordance with Public Law. This action officially closed the case as far as the Navy was concerned.

 On 15 June 1944, the island of Saipan was invaded by American Forces. After the island had been declared secured the Army launched an investigation for possible war crimes that had been committed by the Japanese. The case centered around the remains of three aviator bodies that had been discovered on the island.

 During the course of the investigation many of the local natives that had survived the Japanese rule came forwarded with stories regarding the three. (Only one is of importance for this writing. The others will be covered at a later time.)      

On 17 July 1944, Colonel Elliott G. Colby MC and Lt. Colonel Richard C. Wadsworth MC lead an expedition to the Catholic Cemetery at Garapan to disinter and autopsy the remains of a Navy flyer that had been reported buried on 23 or 24 February 1944. The body was found just outside the northeast corner of the cemetery. Following the disinterment, the body was removed to the 369^th Station Hospital for autopsy. During that examination the following findings were made; The body was clothed in a one-piece, greenish-khaki coverall type of uniform; the buttons on the uniform contained the words " U.S. Navy"; a plain silver ring was found on the left hand; and on the underwear, marked in two places appeared the name. W. L. McVay. It was determined that the injuries were caused as a result of an aircraft accident, not a war crime.

Unfortunately, the Army doctors had no records with which to compare their findings in an effort to identify the victim. The body was removed to the 27^th Division Cemetery and buried as an Unknown (Saipan X-35) in plot 3, row 11, grave 1132.  Following the war the body was shipped to the Philippine Islands for permanent burial in plot F, row 12, grave 2. (photo above)

 This could have easily been the end of the story for Lt. McVay. He would have laid for all eternity under a Cross that read "HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY A COMRADE IN ARMS KNOWN BUT TO GOD". Fortunately the story continued.

While doing research at the National Archives, writer/historian Bruce Petty came across the war crimes case file containing the information on the three aviators from Saipan. He was kind enough to forward the file to me. That started the three year quest to bring Lt McVay home.

Unlike previous cases that were handled on an individual level, the decision was made early on to review all 70 of the Saipan unknowns. I cntacted John Bowen at the National Archives at College Park for assistance. He was able to provided the burial grid plot maps for the three cemeteries on the island.

A telephone search to find family members was begun and eventually led me to Lucy McVay, a cousin. Soon after I was in contact with Elizabeth Huff, the grand daughter, and present next of kin.

By this time the research had proceeded to a point that we thought we knew which unknowns were involved. Based on an established search criteria we selected three unknowns from each of the cemeteries that most closely matched the date of autopsy, 17 July 1944. Unfortunately these first unknown files proved to be the incorrect ones. We later learned that rather than burying the bodies after the autopsy in July, they were instead buried during October.

We eliminated any futher problems by ordering all 70 of the unknown files involved. Lt. McVay may be the first one we bring back and there is hope for 55 others. (See the USS Colorado page for additional information.) The process will go on for years to come.

By June 2008, we had concluded that the remains of Saipan Unknown X-35 from the 27th Division Cemetery matched the physical and dental characteristics of Lt. McVay. That same month the results were forwarded to JPAC in Hawaii. They agreed with our findings and in September received approval for the remains to be disinterred. During Febbruary 2009, the grave was opened and the remains shipped to the Central Identification Lab where they arrived on the 25th of the month. The identification was confirmed in early May. The Casualty call is scheduled for 4 June and the final arrangements will be announced at that time.

Lt. McVay military service originally began in 1936 when he became a member of the National Guard. In 1940 he enlisted in the Navy Reserve for four years. During February 1941, he became an Aviation Cadet at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. Following his basic pilot training he was ordered to active duty training at Nas Miami, Florida, at which time he was designated a Naval Aviator (heavier than air). During Auguast he was ordered to NAS Norfolk to undergo Advanced Carrier Training.

Upon completion of his training, then Ensign McVay was assigned to Scouting Squadron Forty-one (VS-41) USS Ranger (CV-4) in September. The squadron at that time was operating the Douglas SBD Dauntlass aircraft. On 1 October 1942, Ensign McVay was promoted to the rank of Lt(jg). During November 1942, VS-41 participated in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. 

On March 17 1943, was transferred from VS-41 and assigned to VF-1. On 15 July 1943, Fighting Squadron One (VF-1) was redesignated VF-5 and assigned to the USS Yorktown (CV-10). The squadron was equipped with the new Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat. During October he was promoted to the rank of Lt. USNR.

During the cruise Lt. McVay was credited with three aerial victories. The first was against a Zero near Wake Island on 5 October 1943; the second against a Kate near the Marshall Islands on 29 January 1944 and the third against a Hamp near Yap, Caroline Islands on 17 February 1944. His awards included the Distinguish Flying Cross, Air Medal w/Gold Star, Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/2 bronze stars, European-African-Middle Eastern Area Campaign Medal w/1 bronze star, the Victory Medal and the American Defense Serice Medal

At the time of his loss, he left left behind his wife Annie Ruth McVay and his young daughter Diane Haynes McVay, both of Mobile, Alabama.

On 13 July 2009, he was finally laid to rest next to his parents in the Pine Crest Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama.
http://www.al.com/opinion/birmingham/index.ssf/2009/07/joey_kennedy_too_many_of_our_w.html

Lt. McVay's funeral was held on 13 July 2009 with full military honors.

Funeral Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq4LN9fhanM

Tribute Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knNjhvunlno


Ens Harry Warnke
Ensign Warnke was lost on a training mission in June 1944. At the time of his loss he was a member of VF-20 stationed at NAS Barbers Point, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. His plane crashed in a very remote part of the Koolau Mountain range on the east side of the island. The crash site was visited by a Navy search party several days after the accident. They chose to bury his remains at the site rather than remove them. His family was told he had been lost at sea. I found the site in 1991. It was located just three miles from the Central Identification Lab. It took 16 years to get the remains recovered and properly buried.

 Seaman1 Raymond S. Johnson

NAME                       RATE          Serial#           Home Of Record

Carter,Emory C. Jr.          MM1c          2618494     Hollywood, CA   

Dinkheller,Melvin R.         CEM            3250141     San Diego, CA

Fishwick,Ralph B.             EM1c           3367960     Cuba, MO

Harkins,Donnie S.             WT1c           1707867      Grand Rapids, MI

Harris,Lester F.                 F1c               6280516     Dunlap, KS

Hinson,Lee J.*                  S2c               5658282     Oakboro, NC 

Huffstetler,Jacob C.           S2c               6568311     Kings Mountain, NC

Kelly,James B. Jr.*            F2c             5561573       Jacksonville, FL

Lukaszewicz,Edward W.    M2c           6663348       Easthampton, MA

Jacobs,James A.                F3c             5561631      Arlington, GA

Johnson,Raymond S.         S1c             2917476       Fort Wayne, IN

Joyner,Cecil C.                  S1c            5561577       Jacksonville, FL

Martin,Donald E.               S2c             6267047      Selma, IN

Martin,Wilbur E.                F1c             6601820      Cody, WY

Sasser,Cody R.                  S2c            6369415       Barbour, AL

Shaul,Jack M.                    S2c             6267137      New Lisbon, IN

Wallace,Ward B.               MM1c         2581725     Paden City, WV

 *-Survivor.

When dawn broke on the morning of 3 December, the bodies of five of the victims were found along the southeastern shore of Conanicut Island about two miles north of Jamestown, RI. The remains were those of Donald Martin, Sasser, Lukaszewicz, Wallace and Huffstetler.

Over the next eight months, eight additional bodies were recovered. They were Carter, Dunkheller, Fishwick, Harkins, Harris, Jacobs and Wilbur Martin. This left only the bodies of Johnson, Joyner and Shaul unaccounted for.

At 2:15pm on 10 August 1943 a body was recovered from the waters of Narragansett Bay The body was removed to the Dunphy Funeral Parlor where it was determined by a Navy Medical Officers, Lt.(jg) David B. Weisman USNR Medical Corps and Lt.(jg) Alden K. Boyd, USNR Medical Corps, to be that of an unidentified Navy enlisted man. No autopsy was performed but the physical characteristics of the corpse were recorded. The body was interred in the Navy plot at the Island Cemetery in Newport in an unmarked grave.

It is the thirteenth and final body that was recovered that this report deals with.

 In early November, 1995, while conducting a survey of the British and Canadian aviators that are buried in the Navy Plot at the Island Cemetery, I came across an unmarked grave. A check of the cemetery office records revealed that the grave contained the remains of an unknown Navy enlisted man. Virginia Sampson, President of the Island Cemetery, gracefully provided what little information she had from the Cemetery records. They did show the date of interment, funeral director, place of death and gave the name as Unknown Navy Enlisted Man.

The next step was to obtain a copy of the death certificate. This was done on 17 November 1995 when I visited the Newport Town Hall. I talked to an assistant in the Town Clerk’s office, (name withheld), who also provided me with an interesting story. She stated that after the war, the office had received several letters concerning the unknown. My request to view this correspondence was denied.

On a later visit,  I was assisted by Evelyn Smith (Town Clerk), who searched high and low to find the “correspondence” with negative results. Ms. Smith then queried the clerk that had helped me but she denied the story. (In hindsight this would prove interesting. If the “correspondence” did exist and I had been allowed to view it, many months of research and the expenditure of thousands of dollars could probably have been avoided.)

My first contact with the Navy was with the Public Affairs Office at the Newport Naval base. I explained the problem to the Public Affairs Officer( PAO), and was informed that she would get back to me. A week later she informed me that the Navy didn’t own any cemetery plots in the Island Cemetery and that there was nothing she could do. Back to the cemetery to get a copy of the original purchase order showing the Navy had purchased 94 plots in the cemetery during August of 1934. PAO was not impressed and no further assistance was provided.

I then submitted an application for a government headstone.  The headstone was furnished by the Department of Veteran Affairs and was installed in August 1996. Although the marker was furnished by the government at no expense,  the foundation fee ($100) was not covered by the Department.

After applying to various veteran organizations for financial assistance to cover the installation expenses, all with negative results, I wrote to the Commanding Officer of Newport Naval Base, Capt. Ronald C. Bogel for his assistance in this matter.  I was informed by telephone by Mrs. Aggie Goodson, Capt Vogel’s secretary, that there was no funding available to cover the expense of headstone installation.

On her own initiative, Mrs. Goodson relayed to Robert Stevens, VFW Post 4487 Commander, Middletown, RI, the financial dilemma I was faced with. Commander Stevens quickly won approval from the Board of Directors at the Post to provide the funding for the foundation fees.

Because of the apathetic attitude displayed by Captain Bogel, I became determined to identify the unknown remains because I now felt the next of kin had been subjected to the same attitude 54 years ago.

These initial requests were for any information pertaining to the case but there was little to go on. I was beginning to find out just how difficult it is to find information on someone that doesn’t have a name.

By November 1996, I decided to write to The Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel to discuss this case and others that had already been completed. A polite return letter from one of the staff members in his office directed me to the Memorial Affairs Branch, which could only confirm that they knew about the unknown. 

As a last resort, I contacted the Chaplains Review Board in Virginia. One of the senior members of the Board (name withheld) responded and offered assistance. We both agreed that the remains could be those of a deserter that was never recovered. We discussed various options and the way we would proceed. The two areas of research that he would handle would be the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) and the Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) office. I in turn would go to the National Archives at College Park and review the FBI Deserter files which had recently been declassified. A review of the FBI files proved fruitless.

After several weeks, communication with the Chaplain slowed down. When I was finally able to contact him, he relayed that the NIS files did not go back that far and that the JAG held nothing about the case. After several months of no further contact, I decided to check on these two items for myself.

The chaplain’s statement about the NIS files proved to be accurate, but a letter to the JAG office was responded to by Captain G.C. Paad in November 1997, who also provided a complete manuscript of the Manual of the Judge Advocate General final investigative report concerning the recovered unidentified body. This report showed that the only sailors known to be lost in Narragansett Bay as of August 1943 were three missing crewmen from the USS Gherardi.

An Internet search of Veteran Organizations during December 1997 revealed that the USS Gherardi had an active organization. I contacted Richard L. Herr, President of the organization, and explained the situation to him. He happily provided me with copies of the original Investigation, which contained a detailed account of the incident.

It was at this point that I felt reasonably sure that the unknown buried in Newport was one of the three missing sailors from the USS Gherardi whaleboat.

Now that the names of the missing men were available things became a lot easier. First was a review of the American Battle Monument Commission Register, which showed the names of Shaul and Joyner as missing. Johnson’s name was absent which can only be accounted for by the fact that his body was found after August 1943 or there is an administrative error somewhere in the reporting system. The later proved to be true.

The next was to obtain the Individual Deceased Personnel Files from the Army. They contained little information but were provided. Of interest is that the Army had declared both sets of remains non-recoverable while in fact the Navy had already recovered one of them.

The next step was to obtain physical descriptions of the missing men for comparison to the physical description provided by Drs. Weisman and Boyd at the time the body was recovered. The results were obtained from the National Personnel Records Center during January 1998. They were;

NAME         HEIGHT       WEIGHT   EYES     HAIR     COLOR   COMPLEXION

Shaul                 5’5 ½”              111      Blue       Brown     White     Ruddy

Johnson                5’6”               129     Brown    Lt Brown    “             “

Joyner                 5’9”               125 ½    Blue      Lt Brown     “             “

 Doctor Boyd’s description of the body recovered is verbatium from his testimony and the Board of Investigation.

“I was ordered by the Executive Officer to go to Dunphy’s to attempt and identification of a body fished out of the bay. On arrival at Dunphy’s I viewed a torso without arms, thorax or head, which was clad in a leather jumper, a dark blue or black jumper, navy style trousers, low shoes, black socks and galoshes. Also white underwear, shorts, of which little remained. We proceeded to remove his clothing, in the course of which $1.51 in coins was found in the pocket of the leather jacket or jumper. A number of letters on the lower inside rear edge of the jumper which had the appearance of a W, another letter which was undefined and then M O O R E, but due to the wetness and indefinite outlines of the letters I would be unwilling to state that these are definitely the letters on his trousers. A Navy clothing label was found on the upper right side of the trousers and in one of the pockets a celuloid comb. No dog tag or identification card or papers were found. The remains consisted of those below the level of the belt, approximately the lumbar vertebrae. The skin of the anterior abdominal wall was essentially intact and the skin of the inner surface of the thighs and legs was intact also. Save for numerous deep transverse fissures elsewhere the skin was macerated or entirely missing. I would say the genital organs were those of a male. No scars or tattooes or other marks of identification were found on the skin. The appendix was also present.”

From the doctor’s description there is little doubt that the body had been dressed for winter weather at the time of his demise. It should be pointed out that without fingerprints, dental work, identifying scars or tattoos or papers of any kind a positive identification could not be made with the technology then available..

Doctor Weisman’s testimony stated that he estimated the height of the body during life to be “5 feet 10 or 11”.

After two days of testimony, the Board of Investigation submitted the following report;

FINDING OF FACTS   

1.     That the body was taken from the waters of Narragansett Bay at about 2:15 p.m. on August 10, 1943.

2.     That the body was in a greatly decomposed condition, both arms, thorax and head missing.  

3.     That the body was clothed in regulation naval clothing, consisting of undress blue jumper, trousers equipped with naval buttons, blue denim coveralls, slicker, overshoes and leather jacket.

4.     That at the time this body was recovered, the bodies of three naval personnel lost in the waters of Narragansett Bay on or about December 2, 1942 remained unrecovered.

The Board also offered the following opinions;

1.     The board, from a view of the body and from the evidence before it, is of the opinion that the body is that of an enlisted person in the naval service.

2.     The board, from a view of the body and from the evidence before it, is unable to determine the identity of the body.

Based on the height estimate alone there would be little doubt that the remains in the unknown grave are those of Cecil C. Joyner, Seaman 1^st Class, but it is insufficient for a positive ID. The uniformed items as described would indicate that the individual was in a duty status at the time of his loss and not in a liberty status. This would indicate Raymond S. Johnson who is missing and was the coxswain of the whaleboat. The other two crewmembers are accounted for. There is also nothing that could be considered proof positive to eliminate Shaul. Only DNA testing can confirm the fact, but to accomplish the testing you need a DNA sample to match it against. This can be furnished by the next of kin.

Newspaper accounts at the time of the accident showed Joyner’s hometown to be Jacksonville, FL. A fax provided by the National Personnel Records Center showed he was married at the time of his death, with the next of kin listed as Elizabeth Katherine Barnes Joyner. Information on possible children or brothers and sisters has not yet been received, although it has been requested.

Various attempts to contact surviving family members have thus far proved negative. However, the search will continue. I have posted the relevant information to the Internet where hopefully someone will find it.

NOTES:

1)     Ship’s History-USS Gherardi (DD-637)

2)     Record of Proceedings-Court of Inquiry dtd 3 December 1942

3)     Newport Daily News-Clippings covering the event

4)     Board of Investigation Proceedings dtd 11 Aug 1943

5)     State of Rhode Island Death Certificate

6)     State of Rhode Island Public Health Department Death Listing

7)     Application for Veteran Headstone

8)     Ltr to Admiral Marsh-Asst. Chief of Naval Personnel

9)     Ltr from Admiral Marsh’s Office

10)   Individual Deceased Personnel Files-Joyner and Shaul

11)   Ltr to Captain Vogel-Commanding Officer NETTC Newport

12)   Ltr from Bureau of Naval Personnel- Physical descriptions

13)    FAX from National Personnel Record Center

The Story Continues

For seven long years this case has sat inactive. Seemed unlikely that it would ever come to fruition. But all that began to change in early July 2005. Sally and Mack Van Osdell of Inverness, Florida had been doing research on an uncle that was lost during World War II. Mack’s uncle was Cecil Joyner.

They contacted Eugene Philips, President of the USS Gheradi Association, and asked for his assistance in the matter. Didn’t take him long to find me. Now that we had one of the NOK’s it became paramount to find the others.

I was able to locate the sister of Jack Shaul very quickly. Her name is Jane Ryan of Broomfield, Colorado.

Jesse Johnson, Raymond Johnson’s brother, was finally located by Eugene in Needles, California on 11 August after a newspaper article in Fort Wayne.

Once all next-of-kin had been located, DNA kits (FSA) were furnished by the Navy Casualty Office in Milington, Tennessee.  The test samples were returned by years end.

 During November 2005, I was discussing the case with Mr. Kenneth Terry of the Navy Casualty Office. I was informed that a point paper had to be written before the case could be turned over to the Navy Mortuary Office in Great Lakes, Illinois. If he couldn’t get the official reports from me it was going to take a lot longer to get them from Washington. We worked out an exchange that he would provide me with a copy of a report written by the Navy History Office on TBM wrecks in New Guinea for the appropriate JAG Investigations surrounding the USS Gheradi incident. I promptly mailed them in an attempt to move the case along as quickly as possible. Never did receive the TBM report.

By January 2006, I was informed that the point paper had been written and the case forwarded to Navy Mortuary. It was to be handled by Mr. Tim Nicholson. I contacted him to insure he had all of the proper contact information to get in touch with me so I could be present for the disinterrment. Assured me that this would be done and stated that the disinterrment was scheduled for February 2006.

Towards the end of February after not receiving any information from his office I called and was told that the disinterrment had been rescheduled for the March/April time frame. Called again towards the end of April, left a message on his machine but received no reply. After several subsequent calls went unanswered, I instructed all parties concerned to contact their respective congressional representatives to see if they could get answers. Only Sally tried and they wouldn’t answer her either.

During late April 2006 the remains of the unknown were removed from his grave at the Island Cemetery for DNA testing.

 On 12 July 2006, the Navy informed Jessie Johnson, that the remains were those of his brother. His Body is now at Arlington National Cemetery

Seaman 1st Class John August Spielmann

In my twenty years of dealing with MIAs this is about the strangest and most confusing case I have ever had to deal with. According to the Army and the American Battle Monuments Commission he is carried as missing and is memorialized on the East Coast Monument at Battery Park, New York. According to the Navy he was killed in action and was buried, twice in fact, and then reported missing again. Here is the story.

He was a member of the Navy Armed Guard detachment aboard the SS Pan Pennsylvania. He was one of ten Armed Guard members lost when the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-550 some 200 miles east of the Ambrose Lightship (entrance to New York Harbor) on the morning of 16 April 1944. At the time of his loss his next-of-kin were listed as Madeline Spielmann, his wife, and Joan Claire Spielmann, his daughter, both residing on Stewart Ave., New York.

The Navy reported him missing. The war went on. But the story was far from over.

His body drifted north until it washed up on King's Beach, town of Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts on 4 July 1944. The body was badly decomposed after ten weeks in the water. Fingerprints were out of the question. The Navy or Coast Guard enlisted man uniform was apparent. Dental charting was done. The Medical Examiner, Thomas C. Cosgrove, also found the initials "J.A.S" cut into the sole of one shoe. Following the examination the body was removed to the Hinkley and Revere Funeral Parlor. On 6 July the body was buried in the town of Chilmark as an unknown.

On the 27th of July, the body was identified as John August Spielmann from the dental records and other supporting evidence. On the 29th of July, the case was turned over the the Naval Air Station at Quonset Point to arrange for disinterrment and handling of the remains in accordance with the wishes of the next of kin. The body was then disinterred and transported to New York where he was laid to rest on 7 August 1944 in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Plot Summit Range 41, grave 52. The Navy changed his casualty code from 0621 (missing) to 6432 (dead). To the Navy and the family the case was closed.

There is an old saying that the job isn't over until the paperwork is done. Never more true than in this case. They never updated his Death Record Card to show that he had been found, identified and properly buried!

In May of 1949, the  Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery informed the Army Quartermaster General that the remains of Seaman 1st Class John A. Spielmann were non-recoverable. Accordingly his name was placed on the East Coast Monument as missing.