WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Navy Mess Attendant 3rd Class (Matt3c) Neil D. Frye, 20, of Vass, North Carolina, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 27, 2024.
Frye's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Frye was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS West Virginia sustained multiple torpedo hits, but timely counter-flooding measures taken by the crew prevented it from capsizing, and it came to rest on the shallow harbor floor. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Frye.
During efforts to salvage the USS West Virginia, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crewmen, which were interred at Halawa Naval Cemetery on Oahu. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) identified 42 individuals from the remains interred at Halawa. Those who could not be identified, including Frye, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
From June through October 2017, DPAA, in cooperation with cemetery officials, disinterred the 35 Unknowns reported to be associated with the USS West Virginia from the Punchbowl and transferred the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Frye’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Frye’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Frye will be buried in Spring Hills, North Carolina, in April 2025.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Navy for their partnership in this mission.
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.
Frye’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XeJZEA0.
Read Frye's initial ID announcement here: Frye.