WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army 2nd Lt. William B. Bucey, 29, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for March 3, 2025.
In 1942, Bucey was a member of 121st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Army, which conducted guerrilla operations behind Japanese lines after the invasion of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Conventional fighting ended with the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942, but Bucey's unit continued to resist. Bucey was eventually captured by the Japanese and sent to the Cabanatuan POW Camp #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Bucey died Oct. 31, 1944 and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 836.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Bucey'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 or on social media at , , , or .