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US soldier is laid to rest nearly 70 years after WWII death on Saipan
A little over a year after his remains were found by a visiting non-profit Japanese group on Saipan and nearly 70 years after he was declared missing in action during World War II, a U.S. soldier was finally laid to rest in his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky on Friday. That would have been his 94th birthday.
U.S. Army Sgt. William Carneal was declared missing in action on July 7, 1944, while fighting on Saipan.
In March 2013, a non-profit Japanese recovery organization called Kuentai Group arrived on Saipan to retrieve the remains of Japanese soldiers and civilians who perished during the war. In the process, they also discovered the remains believed to be that of an American soldier and immediately contacted the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC.
Carneal was found still with his dog tags, 1939 class ring from Paducah’s Health High School, and American coins.
He was believed to have enlisted in October 1941, reported missing in action in 1944, and declared dead in 1945.
The Paducah Sun and WCSC-TV reported during the weekend that Carneal’s remains arrived April 22 morning at Nashville International Airport and driven to his home. The reports stated that all of Kentucky lowered the flag at half-staff on Friday for Carneal.
The members of the Japanese Kuentai Group who found Carneal’s remains on Saipan were among those who attended Friday’s funeral, the Paducah Sun and WCSC-TV reported.
Carneal’s remains, which in April 2013 were still not officially identified, were among the remains that received full military honors representing losses associated with World War II and the Vietnam War from recent JPAC recovery activities on Saipan and in Vietnam and Laos.
JPAC said there are approximately 1,400 service members that remain unaccounted for from World War II in the “Marianas Islands” region and more than 30 are believed to be on Saipan.
The Battle of Saipan, a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, was fought from June 15 to July 9, 1944.
