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Defense POW/MIA Accounting AgencyFulfilling Our Nation's Promise

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## News Release

# Sailor Missing From WWII Is Identified (Douglas)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced todaythat the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and willbe returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Seaman 1st Class General P. Douglas, U.S. Navy, of Newcomb, Tenn. He will beburied Jan. 26 in Sneedville, Tenn.

On July 6, 1943, the light cruiser USS Helena was struck by torpedoes fired by Japanesedestroyers off the coast of Kolombangara Island, Solomon Islands, in what would become knownas the Battle of the Kula Gulf. More than 700 servicemen were rescued, but Douglas was one ofmore than 150 servicemen who were missing as the ship sunk.

In June 2006, a resident of Ranongga Island, Solomon Islands, notified U.S. officials thathe exhumed human remains and Douglas’ dog tag that he found eroding out of the ground near atrail by his village. The officials contacted the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)who subsequently traveled to Ranongga Island to examine the burial location where they verifiedthat no additional remains were present.

Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence,scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also usedmitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missingAmericans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

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