WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. John A. Pagliuso, 24, of Lyons, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 17, 2025.
Pagliuso's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the fall of 1942, Pagliuso was assigned to the 405th Bombardment Squadron, 38th Bombardment Group. On Oct. 5, Pagliuso was onboard a B-25 Mitchell bomber with six other crew members during a mission over Papua New Guinea. The aircraft did not return, and postwar search efforts failed to recover any remains.
In 1944, Australian officials recovered the remains of an unidentified service member, thought to be a U.S. aviator, from an isolated burial in a village in Papua New Guinea. Aircraft wreckage and an ID bracelet belonging to one of the missing crew members were found in the same area shortly after. However, attempts to associate the remains with any of the crew members was unsuccessful. On June 2, 1944, the remains were interred as Unknown X-6 in U.S. Armed Forces Cemetery #1B, Soputa, one of several temporary burial grounds for U.S. personnel during the war. In 1947, the remains were exhumed and transported to the Central Identification Point in Manila, Philippines for potential identification. After an unsuccessful attempt, X-6 was interred at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM).
In 2021, DPAA personnel recommended the disinterment of the Unknowns at MAMC and in December 2022, exhumed Unknown X-6 and accessioned the remains into the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Pagliuso’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial, Y-chromosome, and autosomal DNA analysis.
Pagliuso’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.
Pagliuso will be buried on a fate yet 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 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.
Read Pagliuso's initial ID announcement here: Pagliuso.