Remains of KCK man, WWII veteran found
The remains of a soldier from Kansas City, Kan., who has been missing since World War II have been identified.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office said last week the remains of Army Pvt. Henry E. Marquez, Kansas City, Kan., and of Army Pfc. Julian H. Rogers, of Bloomington, Ind., had been identified and would be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Marquez will be buried on May 30, in Kansas City, Mo.
Representatives from the ArmyÕs Mortuary Office met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In November 1944, the 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, was attacking east through the HŸrtgen Forest in an attempt to capture the German towns of Vossenack and Schmidt.
On Nov. 4, the Germans counterattacked in what would become one of the longest running battles in U.S. history. Rogers and Marquez, both members of G Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, were reported killed in action near Vossenack on Nov. 4. Their bodies were not recovered.
In 2007, a German citizen searching for wartime relics in the HŸrtgen Forest uncovered human remains and military identification tags for Rogers and Marquez.
He notified U.S. officials and a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team excavated the site later that year. The team recovered human remains and nonbiological material.
Military scientists used dental records, other forensic identification tools, circumstantial evidence and mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains.
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