Mountain Messenger
  • News
    • Local News
    • Courthouse
      • Civil Suits
      • Deeds
      • Marriages
      • Public Meetings
      • Reunions
    • Club News
    • Education
    • Business News
    • Entertainment
    • Sports News
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Church Bulletin
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
    • A Look Back
    • Back Down Country Roads
    • Dear Recycle Lady
    • Between The Lines
    • Letters to the Editor
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications
    • Properties and Lifestyles
    • State Fair Guide
  • Contact Us
  • State News
  • National News
  • Classifieds
  • Legals
  • Login
  • My Account
Subscribe For $2.50/Month
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Messenger
  • News
    • Local News
    • Courthouse
      • Civil Suits
      • Deeds
      • Marriages
      • Public Meetings
      • Reunions
    • Club News
    • Education
    • Business News
    • Entertainment
    • Sports News
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Church Bulletin
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
    • A Look Back
    • Back Down Country Roads
    • Dear Recycle Lady
    • Between The Lines
    • Letters to the Editor
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications
    • Properties and Lifestyles
    • State Fair Guide
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Messenger
No Result
View All Result
  • National News
  • WV State News
  • VA State News
  • Contact Us

WV soldier accounted for from World War II

June 15, 2021
in Categories, Local News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Army Pfc. John J. Sitarz of Weirton, WV, was killed during WWII and was only identified recently and returned to the United States for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced recently that Army Pfc. John J. Sitarz, 19, of Weirton, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 27, 2020.

In November 1944, Sitarz was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was declared missing in action on Nov. 2. Sitarz could not be recovered because of the on-going fighting, and his status was changed to killed in action on Nov. 3, 1945.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Sitarz’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2785 Neuville, recovered from a minefield west of Germeter in 1946 possibly belonged to Sitarz. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1949, were disinterred in 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

To identify Sitarz’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Sitarz’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) site in Hombourg, Belgium, 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.

Sitarz will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, at a date yet to be determined.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 1-800-892-2490.

DPAA is grateful to the ABMC and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.

 

ShareTweetPin
Previous Post

WV Department of Tourism launches 2021 birthday celebration

Next Post

Grand Jury returns Indictments

Join Our Newsletter

  • News
  • Spiritual
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications

© 2022 Mountain Media, LLC

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
No Result
View All Result
  • eMessenger
  • Local News
  • Courthouse
  • A Look Back
  • Business News
  • Church News
  • Club News
  • Sports News
  • Entertainment
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Special Publications
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe | Digital & Newspaper

© 2022 Mountain Media, LLC

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Forgot your password?

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login