WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Harlan W. Melinsky, 23, missing in action during World War II, was accounted for April 2, 2026.
In May 1944, Melinsky was assigned to Company I, 3d Battalion, 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division in Italy. He was a sniper in an advance scouting patrol two miles north of the town of Itri. At some point between May 17-19, he had been ordered to move forward while his patrol was engaged with German forces and he was never seen again. He was initially reported missing in action on May 20. There is no record he was ever a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death for Melinsky in May 1945.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Melinsky's case will be published once his family receives a full briefing.
For additional information on the War Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency, www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.