WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt Roman Cherubini, 22, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 16, 2024.
Cherubini’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
Cherubini was assigned to F Company, 2nd Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as “Merrill’s Marauders.” Cherubini joined the unit as part of "New Galahad" replacements sent to supplement the original group of 5307th troops ("Old Galahad") in May 1944. After arriving at the recently captured airfield in Myitkyina, Burma, Cherubini’s battalion advanced south from the village of Mankrin on June 16 against heavily fortified Japanese positions north of Myitkyina. Although the exact circumstances of his death were not recorded, the U.S. War Department declared Cherubini Killed in Action on June 16, 1944.
The remains of servicemen killed during the battle were buried in at least eight different temporary cemeteries and numerous isolated burial locations. Eventually, all known burials were concentrated into the U.S. Military Cemetery at Myitkyina, including remains that could not be identified. In January and February 1946, all of the remains at the U.S. Military Cemetery at Myitkyina were disinterred and transferred to the U.S. Military Cemetery at Kalaikunda, India. The exhumation of the U.S. Military Cemetery at Kalaikunda was conducted in September and October 1947, with unidentified remains transferred to the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) on Oahu for further analysis.
Despite the efforts of CIL staff, one of these remains, designated X-65 Kalaikunda, could not be identified and was subsequently buried as a World War II Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu on Mar. 11, 1949.
In January 2022, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-65 Kalaikunda from the NMCP, also known as the Punchbowl, as part of the Battle of Myitkyina project and transferred the remains to the DPAA laboratory.
To identify Cherubini’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Cherubini’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City, Philippines, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Cherubini will be buried on a date yet to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
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.
Cherubini’s personnel profile can be viewed at: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Lm2JEAS.