WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Tech. Sgt. Joseph R. Moore, 28, of Richmond, Virginia, killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 20, 2024.
Moore’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
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 and Kleinhau. 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.
DPAA historians are in the midst of an extensive research and recovery project focused American Soldiers missing from ground combat in the Hürtgen Forest. They determined that two sets of unknown remains previously recovered by the AGRC, designated X-2751 and X-2754B, buried at Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neupré, Belgium, were likely associated to unresolved soldiers missing north of Kleinhau. X-2751 was disinterred in April 2019 and X-2754B was disinterred in June 2021. Both were sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. After scientific analysis of the two sets of remains, it was determined they were parts of the same person, and the two sets were consolidated.
To identify Moore’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, Y chromosome DNA and autosomal DNA analysis.
Moore’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Hombourg, Belgium, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Moore will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa 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.
Moore’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzZxDEAU.