WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade Ell T. Simantz, 23, of Grand Haven, Michigan, killed during World War II, was accounted for on May 9, 2025.
Simantz's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In late 1942, Simantz was assigned to Service Company, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, and deployed in present day Papua New Guinea. He was reportedly killed in action on Dec. 19 during an Allied campaign against fortified enemy positions in Papua New Guinea. His remains were not recovered after the war.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS), the military unit responsible for investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater, began exhuming remains from approximately 11,000 graves in five Finschhafen cemeteries for shipment to the Central Identification Point at the Manila Mausoleum in the Philippines. One set of remains, later designated X-128 Finschhafen #2, was recovered from the Buna Village Cemetery. At the time, the remains could not be identified and were subsequently interred in Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM). On Sept. 16, 1949, Simantz was declared nonrecoverable.
In February 2017, DPAA personnel exhumed Unknown X-128 Finschhafen #2 from the MACM and sent to the remains to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Simantz’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, mitochondrial genome sequencing data, and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism analysis.
Simantz’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Simantz will be buried in his hometown on Oct. 17, 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.
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.
Simantz’s personnel profile can be viewed at Pfc. ELL T SIMANTZ - Service Member Profile