WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Navy Aviation Radioman 2nd Class Robert L. Cyr, Jr., 19, of New Haven, Connecticut, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Nov. 5, 2025.
Cyr’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In early 1944, Cyr was assigned to Navy Patrol Squadron 91. On Jan. 22, he 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.
From July 8 to 18, 2022, researchers and divers from Sealark Exploration, with Lead Archaeologist Matt Carter, located and documented the wreck site during an underwater investigation on behalf of the DPAA. A second DPAA partner, Cosmos Archaeology, also excavated the site twice, first from May to June 2024 and again in May 2025. Both teams recovered possible material evidence, and the excavation team recovered possible human remains and possible osseous material, which were accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for review and analysis.
To identify Cyr’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Cyr’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Cyr will be buried in Clearwater, Florida, on May 2, 2026.
For family and funeral information, contact the Navy Service Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission. DPAA is also grateful to the Sealark Exploration and Cosmos Archaeology for their steadfast support to help identify our unaccounted-for personnel.
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.
Cyr’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzPjKEAU.
Cyr’s initial ID announcement can be viewed at https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4355454/sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-cyr-r/.