Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Jack Zarifian, 19, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, killed during World War II, was accounted for May 10, 2024.
In April 1945, Zarifian was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in fierce fighting near the town of Buchhof, Germany, when he was reported killed in action after being struck by a Nebelwerfer rocket on Apr. 6. His body was unable to be recovered due to intense fighting against German forces holding the town. Zarifian’s remains were not accounted for during or after the war, and he was not reported as being captured by German forces.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Several recovery teams visited Buchhof and spoke with locals about missing troops. Villagers explained that several U.S. servicemembers had been buried in their cemetery or within the community, but that American units had later exhumed the dead and took their bodies back to American cemeteries. Zarifian was not among those recovered.
On October 18, 2023, DPAA officials in based in Germany received phone calls from police officers at Mosbach and Heilbronn with reports regarding possible American remains discovered near Buchhof. Explosive ordnance disposal technicians had located what they believed to be human remains and World War II era U.S. equipment and clothing, while clearing a construction site for an underground electrical power line northwest of the village.
Excavation of the site revealed human remains, material evidence consistent with items utilized by U.S. personnel during World War II, and various personal items believed to belong to Zarifian. The evidence was transferred into the custody of the DPAA and accessioned into the laboratory for analysis.
To identify Zarifian’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and Autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Zarifian’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Zarifian will be buried in Providence, Rhode Island, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission.
For additional information on the Defense 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.
Zarifian’s personnel profile can be viewed here https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzToYEAU.