WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Capt. Willibald C. Bianchi, 29, of New Ulm, Minnesota, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 11, 2025.
Bianchi's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
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 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.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel. In May 1946, AGRC Search and Recovery Team #9 exhumed a mass grave on a beach at Takao, Formosa, recovering 311 bodies. Following unsuccessful attempts to identify the remains, they were declared unidentifiable and buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
Between October 2022 and July 2023, DPAA disinterred Unknowns from the Punchbowl linked to the Enoura Maru. The remains were accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for further analysis.
To identify Bianchi’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.
Bianchi’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, 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.
Bianchi will be buried in his hometown in May 2026.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
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 Bianchi’s personnel profile here: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000QkCK5EAN.
Read Bianchi's initial ID announcement here: Bianchi.