WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Helmut F. Behlert, 27, of Salt Lake City, Utah, killed during World War II, was accounted for Oct. 9, 2025.
Behlert’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the summer of 1944, Behlert was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which was part of the invasion force of the island of Saipan in a larger effort to capture the Mariana Islands from Japan. Behlert was reported killed in action on the first day of the invasion, June 15, but his body was not able to be recovered.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Service was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater. They searched for and disinterred remains on Saipan, but could not identify any as Behlert.
Remains designated as Unknown X-40 4th Marine Division Cemetery Saipan were recovered from Saipan and interred in the Fort William McKinley Cemetery, now the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines.
After thorough historical research, it was determined that X-40 could likely be identified. Unknown X-40 was disinterred in December 2022, and sent to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Behlert’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 DNA analysis, mitochondrial genome sequencing data, and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism analysis.
Behlert’s name is recorded in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Behlert will be buried May 20, 2026, in San Bruno, California.
For family and funeral information, contact the Marine Corps Casualty office at (866) 210-3421, option 1.
DPAA is grateful to ABMC 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.