Medal of Honor soldier identified after 83 years
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Wednesday it has identified the remains of U.S. Army Capt. Willibald Bianchi of New Ulm, Minnesota, a Medal of Honor recipient who was captured in 1942 on the Bataan Peninsula and later died when a Japanese transport carrying POWs was sunk. His remains, recovered in 1946 in Taiwan and interred as unknown at Honolulu’s Punchbowl, were identified using anthropological analysis and DNA testing after DPAA disinterred related unknowns in 2022–2023; he will be buried in Minnesota in May.
📌 Key Facts
- Capt. Willibald Bianchi earned the Medal of Honor for actions on Bataan in 1942 and was later held as a POW.
- He died after Japanese POW transport ships (including Oryoku Maru and a subsequent ship bound for Taiwan) were sunk by U.S. forces.
- Remains recovered in 1946 from a Taiwan mass grave and interred as unknown at the Punchbowl were identified via DPAA analysis and AFMES DNA testing; burial set for May in New Ulm, MN.
📊 Relevant Data
Approximately 27,000 American military personnel were held as POWs by Japan during World War II, with more than 11,000 dying in captivity, resulting in a death rate exceeding 40 percent.
The Japanese Submariner Who Became America's First WWII Prisoner After Pearl Harbor — Military.com
There are still nearly 72,000 U.S. service members unaccounted for from World War II.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency — The National WWII Museum
More than 14,000 POWs died on Japanese hellships during World War II, many from friendly fire by U.S. forces.
Under the enemy's yoke: The POW experience in Japan — U.S. Army
During the Bataan Death March in 1942, approximately 12,000 American and 66,000 Filipino troops were forced to march, with estimates of 500-650 American deaths and 5,000-18,000 Filipino deaths.
Bataan Death March — Wikipedia