WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Charles S. Atteberry, 26, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 4, 2025.
In January 1945, Atteberry was assigned to the 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Army on the Bataan Peninsula, in the Philippines. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Empire of Japan in the Philippines until 1944 when the Japanese military moved POWs to Manila for transport to Japan aboard the transport ship Oryoku Maru. Unaware the allied POWs were on board, a U.S. carrier-borne aircraft attacked the Oryoku Maru, which eventually sank in Subic Bay. Atteberry was then transported to Takao, Formosa, known today as Taiwan, aboard the Enoura Maru. On Jan. 13, after U.S. forces attacked and sank the Enoura Maru, Japanese authorities reported that Atteberry was placed aboard the Brazil Maru bound for Moji, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, where he died days later.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Atteberry'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 .