Remains of Ohio native who died during World War II identified after 82 years

Columbus, Ohio (WSYX) — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Friday that U.S. Army Sgt. Howard L. Hasselkus, a 24-year-old from Elmore, Ohio, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for on September 23, 2024.

According to historical records, Hasselkus died on November 22, 1942, and was buried in Common Grave 807 at the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed the remains, but nine sets, including Hasselkus's, were declared unidentifiable and buried as Unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

In 2018, the DPAA exhumed the remains from Common Grave 807 for analysis. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence, and DNA analysis to identify Has