World War II POW/MIA Accounting

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has identified the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Wilbert G. Linsenbardt of Lohman, Missouri, more than 83 years after he was killed in action near Buna, Papua New Guinea, on Dec. 5, 1942. Linsenbardt, a member of Company A, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, died when his unit came under heavy enemy fire and was long listed as non‑recoverable, leaving behind a 4‑month‑old daughter he never met. Remains recovered in 1943 near an area known as the "Triangle" were originally buried as unknown, but DPAA historians in 2017 linked them to Linsenbardt’s case and exhumed "Unknown X‑38 Finschhafen #2" for modern analysis. Scientists used dental and anthropological examination, along with mitochondrial DNA testing and circumstantial evidence, to confirm his identity, making him one of nearly 1,000 Americans from World War II whose remains have now been identified and returned. Linsenbardt will be reburied in his Missouri hometown this spring with full military honors, closing a case that had been unresolved for his family for more than eight decades.