WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Junior J. Shelton, 24, of Sebree, Kentucky, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 25, 2025.
Shelton's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In 1944, Shelton was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. He was reportedly killed in action on Oct. 4 after his company encountered German enemy forces near Hatterath, Germany. His remains were not accounted for after the battle.
Shortly after the war ended in 1945, American graves registration personnel recovered several sets of remains from field graves and foxholes around Hatterath. None were identified as Shelton. Then, in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. In Aug. 1947, an AGRC investigation team went to Hatterath to search for the remains of five missing soldiers from the 115th Infantry Regiment. However, none of the remains recovered could be identified as Shelton.
In 2023, a DPAA historian studying unresolved losses at Hatterath reviewed documentation related to X-936 Margraten, an Unknown set of remains recovered from a field grave at Hatterath in June 1945 and buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. The historian determined the remains could be associated to Shelton and recommended exhumation for scientific testing. DPAA scientists reviewed the documentation and endorsed disinterment of X-936. In August 2024, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed X-936 Margraten and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Shelton’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial, Y chromosome, and autosomal DNA analysis.
Shelton’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands, 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.
Shelton will be buried in his hometown in October 2025.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission. DPAA would also like to thank Mr. Tino Dam, Mr. Peter Mulder, and Mr. Bart Van Der Sterren for their assistance in researching Shelton's case.
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.
Read Shelton's initial ID announcement here: Shelton.