WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Capt. Willibald C. Bianchi, 29, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 11, 2025.
In 1942, Bianchi served as commander of Company D, 1st Battalion, 45th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Scouts, on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. On Feb. 3, he volunteered to help clear a series of Japanese machine gun nests and despite being wounded multiple times, he continued leading the attack, earning him the Medal of Honor for his actions. On April 9, he was captured and 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. Bianchi was then transported to Takao, Formosa, known today as Taiwan, aboard the Enoura Maru. The Japanese reported that Bianchi was killed on Jan. 9 when U.S. forces attacked and sank the Enoura Maru.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Bianchi'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,
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