WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Navy Aviation Radioman 2nd Class Robert L. Cyr Jr., 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Nov. 5, 2025.
In January 1944, Cyr was assigned to Navy Patrol Squadron 91. DPAA historians report that on Jan. 22, 1944, Cyr and eight other crew members were on board a PBY-5 Catalina seaplane when it crashed during takeoff in the Segond Channel, New Hebrides, now the Republic of Vanuatu. Of the nine crewmembers, three survived, four were recovered in the days following the crash, and two, including Cyr, were not recovered following the war.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Cyr'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,
https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.