WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Duane W. Payne, 27, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 1, 2026.
In the fall of 1944, Payne was assigned to the Company L, 3rd Battalion, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division. Before dawn on Oct. 8, the 1st and 3rd Battalions received orders to continue the attack southeastward to the town of Mariadorf, Germany. The 3rd Battalion struggled to hold its ground. An entire mortar section from Company L was overrun near Alsdorf. The German troops were beginning to use the mortar tubes against the American troops when Company L infantry counterattacked and recaptured them. Payne went missing during the German counterattack.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Payne'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 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.