WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Wilbert G. Linsenbardt, 27, of Lohman, Missouri, killed during World War II, was accounted for on April 30, 2025.
Linsenbardt's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the winter of 1942, Linsenbardt was assigned to Company A, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. He was reportedly killed in action on Dec. 5, near Buna in Papua New Guinea after his unit encountered intense enemy fire. His remains were not recovered after the war, and he was declared non-recoverable in 1951.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service, the military unit responsible for investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater, began exhuming remains from approximately 11,000 graves at the Finschhafen cemeteries and prepared them for shipment to the Central Identification Point at the Manila Mausoleum in the Philippines. In June 1943, AGRS personnel recovered asset of remains, designated X-38 Finschhafen #2, approximately 100 yards northeast of the “Triangle,” near Buna on the Urbana Front. The remains were interred at Duropa Plantation Cemetery #1A, almost 2.5 miles away. They were later exhumed and sent to the CIP in Manila for analysis but were unable to be identified at the time. The remains were reinterred and declared unidentifiable.
In January 2017, DPAA historians and anthropologists conducted a review of historical records and compiled a list of 94 unknowns potentially associated with the Buna area. They recommended the remains be disinterred and in 2017, DPAA personnel exhumed Unknown X-38 Finschhafen #2 from the MACM and sent the remains to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Linsenbardt’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis, mitochondrial genome sequencing data, and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism analysis.
Linsenbardt’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.
Linsenbardt will be buried in his hometown in Spring 2026.
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 War 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 Linsenbardt's initial ID announcement here: Linsenbardt.