WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Navy Reserve Ensign Howard A. Holding, 22, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 10, 2025.
During World War II, Holding was assigned Fighting Squadron Twenty, USS Enterprise. On. Sept. 6, 1944, he participated in a fighter sweep over Yap Island in what is the modern-day Federated States of Micronesia. His plane was believed to have crashed after colliding with another aircraft in his group. Holding’s remains were not accounted for after the war and on Feb. 6, 1946, the Navy issued a presumptive finding of death.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Holding'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 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.