DENVER — A Denver soldier who had been listed as missing during World War II is now accounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
In November 1944, Army Pvt. Harry W. Wilder, 21, was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. H
He was reported missing in action on Nov. 14, 1944, after fierce combat in the Raffelsbrand sector of the Hürtgen Forest, near the village of Simonskall, in Germany.
Due to ongoing combat operations and extensive land mines throughout the forest, American forces were unable to search for him. When the war ended, Wilder was among more than two dozen soldiers still missing in the Raffelsbrand sector.
On Nov. 15, 1945, the War Department declared Wilder deceased.
After the war, the American Graves Registration Command extensively searched the Hürtgen Forest for Wilder’s remains. Unable to make a correlation with any remains found in the area, he was declared non-recoverable.
In April 1947, following demining operations, a set of unidentified remains was recovered from the Raffelsbrand sector of the Hürtgen Forest. The remains were sent to the central processing point at Neuville, Belgium. They could not be identified and were designated X-5392, and buried as an unknown Soldier at Neuville American Cemetery.
Based upon the original recovery location of X-5392, a DPAA historian determined that there was a likely association between the remains and Wilder.
In April 2018, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission dug up X-5392 and took the remains to the DPAA laboratory for identification.
Scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence to identify Wilder.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently, there are 72,708 service members still unaccounted for from World War II.
Although buried as an Unknown soldier, Wilder’s grave was meticulously cared for by ABMC for 70 years. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Local stories from 9NEWS
