WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Ira Warren, 26, of Seth, West Virginia, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for June 11, 2025.
Warren's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In late 1942, Warren was a member of Headquarters Company, 194th Tank Battalion, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Warren was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Warren died July 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 312.
Following the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel recovered 40 sets of remains buried in Common Grave 312. However, 28 were unable to be identified at the time and were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as Unknowns.
In January 2018, as part of DPAA’s Cabanatuan Project, the remains associated with Common Grave 312 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Warren’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA analysis, as well as mitochondrial genome sequencing data.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Warren’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Warren will be buried in Bloomingrose, West Virginia, in Spring 2026.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the ABMC and the United States Army 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
Warren’s personnel profile can be viewed at Pvt. IRA WARREN - Service Member Profile
Read Warren's initial ID announcement here: Warren.