WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Tech. Sgt. Joseph R. Moore, 28, killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 20, 2024.
In December 1944, Moore was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, in Europe. His regiment had recently captured Hürtgen, Germany, during the Hürtgen Forest offensive. Beginning Dec. 1, Moore’s unit was part of the push east from the town. He was reported missing in action as of Dec. 11 while his unit occupied the woods between Brandenberg and Kleinhau, though there is no clear indication of what happened to him. The Germans never reported Moore as a German prisoner of war, and Army investigators found no evidence he survived the fighting around Brandenberg. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 12, 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations and recoveries in the Hürtgen Forest between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to find and identify Moore. He was declared Non-Recoverable on Dec. 12, 1951.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Mann's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
Moore’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzZxDEAU.