The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the United States Department of Defense. Their mission is to recover the remains of military personnel who are listed as prisoners of war or missing in action from past conflicts. We’ve added a new collection of indexed records for the estimated 82,000 American military and civilian personnel still missing in action. The index covers multiple conflicts including WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and more recent conflicts including Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The DPAA collection is divided into two groups. Group A, which consists of 38,000 missing service members whose remains are considered recoverable; and Group B consists of 44,000 missing service members whose remains are considered unrecoverable.
One of those listed in this DPAA index is 2Lt. Charles V. Safford. He served in the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment, where his Battery suffered terrible losses in the Philippines. Of the 149 men enlisted in the battery, more than half were lost.
The Santa Fe New Mexican – November 10, 1945
Safford was captured during the fall of Bataan in 1942 and sent to Davao Penal Colony, where he and other prisoners endured extreme abuse and deprivation. In September 1944, after more than two years as a POW, Safford and 750 other American POWs were loaded aboard the Japanese cargo-steamer Shinyo Maru, bound for Manila.
Allies intercepted messages and believed the Shinyo Maru was carrying enemy troops. On September 7, 1944, the USS Paddle fired upon the Shinyo Maru. The ship began to sink, and panicked prisoners scrambled to escape the flooding hold of the ship. Japanese guards fired upon those trying to escape. By the time it was over, only 82 POWs survived. Safford’s remains were never identified and his name is now included in the DPAA index.
Search this index to learn additional details for unaccounted military personnel, including their residence, military branch, death date, and more. Explore the new DPAA collection on Fold3® today!
On February 9, 1945, the State Department sent an urgent telegram to the Secretary of State. The message informed him that thousands of American soldiers, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, were being held at a notorious German POW camp. It stated that Stalag IX-B was “previously not (repeat not) known to be a large American camp.” The POW camp, also known as Bad Orb-Wegscheide, was located near Bad Orb in Hesse, Germany. After receiving reports of the horrific conditions in the camp, plans immediately got underway to liberate the prisoners. On April 2, 1945, an American task force broke through the German line and drove 37 miles through enemy-held territory to rescue the prisoners of Stalag IX-B.
Telegram informs military officials that Americans are held at Stalag IX-B
Stalag IX-B was a German Army training camp during WWI, but in 1939, the Wehrmacht seized it and converted it into a POW camp. The camp housed prisoners from at least eight countries, including Americans, which began arriving in December 1944.
During the Battle of the Bulge, some Americans were captured and sent to Stalag IX-B. The first group, numbering nearly one thousand, was taken prisoner on December 17, 1944. They were forced to march for four days, only receiving food and water once. Then they were packed into boxcars for the five-day trip to Stalag IX-B, again only receiving food and water once. Those that were wounded were denied medical attention and suffered tremendously. The prisoners finally arrived at Stalag IX-B nine days later, but camp officials were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of POWs. They lacked beds, food, and supplies. The appalling conditions of the camp were indescribable.
Report on Stalag IX-B
In January 1945, the International Red Cross visited Stalag IX-B and reported on conditions. They described 1,300 men sleeping on the floor and others sleeping on vermin-infested straw or mattresses. Many of the barracks had broken windows, and the POWs lacked blankets or coats. There were no washing facilities and insufficient toilets. They gathered a list of soldiers imprisoned there, noting some had already passed away. At another visit in March, a report noted conditions had gotten even worse, with prisoners suffering considerable weight loss, disease, non-existent hygiene, and small portions of food.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds
Included among the Americans held at Stalag IX-B were Jewish-American troops. During one daily line-up, the camp commandant ordered all Jewish prisoners to step forward. Roddie Edmonds quickly spread orders that his men should stand firm. He then responded with, “We are all Jews here.” For this act of bravery, he was awarded Righteous Among the Nations, the first American soldier to be so honored.
On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, a reconnaissance task force comprised of members of the 2nd Battalion, 114th Regiment, US 44th Infantry Division, the 106th Cavalry Group, and the 776th Tank Destroyer Battalion broke through German lines and went ahead of the main body of American forces. They arrived at a hill overlooking the town of Bad Orb. When a German garrison opened fire on the American position, they answered with machinegun fire and artillery shells throughout the night. Finally, Germany withdrew its troops. The following morning Stalag IX-B was turned over to the Americans, many of whom wept when they saw the condition of the emaciated prisoners.
If you would like to learn more about Stalag IX-B or other WWII POW camps, see our collection of WWII records and search Fold3® today!
In 1942, US military officials visited the Navajo Nation and recruited 29 Navajo men to train as Code Talkers in the Marines. Code Talkers used their tribal language to send secret messages on the battlefield. By the end of the war, more than 400 Navajos were trained as Code Talkers, participating in nearly every major Marine operation in the Pacific Theater. Their code remained unbroken throughout the war, and their contributions helped the United States achieve victory in the Pacific.
The first 29 Navajo Code Talker recruits are sworn in at Fort Wingate, New Mexico
During WWI, soldiers from the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes became the first known US Code Talkers. Seeing their success at passing messages in code, WWI veteran Philip Johnston, who grew up on the Navajo reservation as the son of missionaries, proposed Navajo Code Talkers at the beginning of WWII. Marine officials were hesitant, worried that using a tribal code may not work again. After seeing an impressive demonstration, military officials began recruiting Navajos into the Marines.
Navajos had to meet three requirements to be a Code Talker: first, they had to be fluent in both Navajo and English. Second, they needed to be between 17 and 30 years old, and finally, they had to pass basic training. The original 29 recruits left the Navajo nation and began to develop a coded alphabet. To accomplish this, they chose an English word for each letter of the alphabet, then translated that English word into Navajo. For example, the word for the letter “a” was ant, and the Navajo translation for ant was Wol-la-chee. The Code Talkers also developed code words for military words. Officials were pleased and surprised at how quickly and accurately coded messages could be sent and received. Instead of the standard 30 minutes needed using code-breaking machines, the Code Talkers could translate three lines of English in 20 seconds.
Their work was dangerous. Code Talkers often worked in pairs, with one person operating the radio and the other receiving and relaying the messages. Radio operators were already a target, so Code Talkers had to keep moving as they performed their work. During the first two days of the Battle of Iwo Jima, they transmitted 800 messages without a single mistake. At least 14 other Native nations also served as Code Talkers during WWII, but the Navajos were the most formally organized. One of the original 29 Code Talkers, Allen Dale June, joined the Marines when he was 17. The irony of being asked to defend the country was not lost on June or other Code Talkers. “Naturally we were concerned about the survival of the country in the Great War at the time. At the same time, we were defending our own country, the Navajo Nation,” he said.
Sgt. Allen June at age 91
The Code Talkers were so successful that military officials wanted to keep the program classified. After the war, Code Talkers remained quiet about their service for 23 years. Finally, in 1968, the project was declassified, and the Navajo Code Talkers received public recognition for the first time. That recognition extended on a national level when in 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared August 14 as Navajo Code Talkers Day. In 2001, the 29 original Code Talkers were honored with Congressional Gold Medals by President George W. Bush.
If you would like to learn more about Navajo Code Talkers, search Fold3® today.
We’ve added a new collection of WWI records to our archives! The U.S. WWI Burial Cards document the death and burial of over 78,000 American soldiers in WWI. These cards contain information including:
Name of the deceased
Unit assigned
Date and cause of death
Burial location
Final resting place if reinterred
Emergency contact information (often the name of a family member)
Quentin was attending Harvard when the U.S. entered WWI. He dropped out to join the 1st Aero Company of the New York National Guard, later joining the U.S. Army Air Service’s 95th Aero Squadron division, where he achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. On July 14, 1918, he was flying near Chamery, France, when he engaged in aerial combat with several German aircraft. He was shot down and died at age 20.
Quentin Roosevelt
Quentin was buried by the German military, with full battlefield honors, his grave marked with a make-shift cross fashioned out of two pieces of wood bound together with wire from Quentin’s downed plane. As seen on his Burial Card, his grave was No. 1, Isolated Commune #102, Coulonges (Aisne), France.
Quentin’s Burial Card lists his mother as his emergency contact. It also records that his parents were officially notified of his death by letter (L.S. – letter sent to parents). After WWII, the American Cemetery was established in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Quentin’s remains were disinterred and moved there so that he could be laid to rest next to his oldest brother Ted. Ted helped command the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division during the D-Day landings but died of a heart attack the following month in France. Note that Quentin’s Burial Card shows “Grave Released to N.R.” (Nearest Relative). Do you have an ancestor that died in WWI? Explore this newly added collection of U.S. WWI Burial Cards today on Fold3®.
Thanks for joining us earlier this month during our live stream from the Gettysburg battlefield. It was our privilege to work with the American Battlefield Trust as we learned more about this important battle. We’re highlighting a few of the soldier’s stories and artifacts you may have missed during the broadcast. Our special thanks to David Malgee from the Gettysburg Foundation. His amazing collection of Gettysburg artifacts are both a poignant and illustrative reminder of the impact this battle had on so many soldiers, their families, and communities back home.
John F. Payne discharge paper
John F. Payne enlisted as a private in the Virginia 18th Regiment, Company A, on April 23, 1861, in Danville, Virginia. He was admitted to a hospital in Petersburg under the care of Dr. John Claiborne and discharged in March 1863. He folded up his discharge paper and placed it in his coat pocket and rejoined his regiment. On July 3, the Virginia 18th took part in Pickett’s Charge, the deadly infantry assault on the last day of battle at Gettysburg. Payne was shot in the chest and died on the battlefield. A Union soldier, rifling through his coat pocket, found his folded hospital discharge paper, stained with blood. He scrawled “Rebel Blood” across the document and kept it as a souvenir. This blood-stained record represents just one of the many Confederate deaths during Pickett’s Charge. Learn more about Payne in this video.
Edwin R. Good camp hatchet
Edwin R. Good enlisted in the New Jersey 11th Infantry, Company F, in August 1862. He was later promoted to lieutenant and wounded during the Battle of Chancellorsville. During the Battle of Gettysburg, he was wounded three times. He was hospitalized and tried to return to the battlefield but was later discharged for disability. Pictured here is the camp hatchet Lt. Good used during the war. It is engraved with his regiment and company. Learn more about Lt. Good in this video.
John Allen Kelly was born in April 1841 in Alabama. He enlisted in the 13th Mississippi, Company I, in April 1861, the day before his 20th birthday. During the Battle of Gettysburg, the 13th took part in the assault on the Peach Orchard and adjacent positions. Kelly’s company took heavy casualties but he survived. In 1909, Kelly attended a Confederate Civil War reunion. When asked if he was happy to be there, Kelly responded, “I suppose I am. When I take into consideration the fact that out of 46 members of my company who went into the Battle of Gettysburg, 41 of them were killed, wounded, or missing. Why shouldn’t I be glad?” Pictured here is John Kelly’s 1855 Springfield rifle. Learn more about Kelly in this video from the live stream.
John A. Kelly’s 1855 Springfield rifle
Francis “Frank” Chester Goodrich was born June 1, 1837, in New Hampshire. He received an appointment at West Point but transferred to Harvard University after a short time. In 1861, Goodrich enlisted in the Massachusetts 3rd Infantry, Company B. He later transferred to the 2nd U.S. Infantry, serving as a lieutenant. On July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg, Goodrich was killed during the fighting at the Wheatfield. He was 26 years old. His body was temporarily buried on the battlefield where he fell. This original battlefield grave marker marked the spot. His father later came to Gettysburg and had his son’s body exhumed and brought back to New England for burial. Learn more about Goodrich in this video.
We’d love to hear your feedback about the Gettysburg live stream. Did you enjoy it? Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve? To see all the live stream videos you may have missed, click here. To research your own Civil War story, search our Civil War record collection on Fold3® today!
“It affords me very great satisfaction to be able to inform you that…I received the sword-belt and scabbard which were taken from your father’s body upon the field at Gettysburg,” wrote Dr. John Wilson Wishart from a field hospital near Cold Harbor, Virginia. The recipient of the letter was 10-year-old Emma Roberts, a young girl orphaned by war.
Richard Roberts
The years leading up to the Civil War were hard on the Roberts family. Richard Roberts was a prominent lawyer and the district attorney of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He married Caroline Henry on May 1, 1851, and the union produced three children—Thomas, Mary, and Emma. Emma J. Roberts was the middle child born on December 2, 1853, and the only Roberts child to live to adulthood. On February 4, 1862, Caroline passed away, leaving Robert a widower and Emma motherless.
By the summer of 1862, the situation in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War was reaching a boiling point. Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia escaped the clutches of the Federal army around Richmond, Virginia, and was campaigning into Northern Virginia, eventually moving into Maryland. During this “Emergency of 1862,” President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for volunteers to bolster the Federal ranks. Roberts, an ardent republican and supporter of the Union, called on Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin to allow him to raise a company in defense of the country, but did not wait for the governor’s reply. Instead, on July 18th, he began traveling to churches in rural Beaver County, rallying men to the cause. He must have been a passionate and influential speaker because instead of filling one company, he filled three!
By September, Roberts found himself at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and elected as colonel of the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Companies from Greene, Mercer, and Washington Counties joined their Beaver County comrades. Richard often corresponded with Emma. “I think about you every hour in the day and hope you think about your Pa,” read one letter. In another, he asked about her visits to the homes of her aunts and reminded her, “remember the very good lessons taught by your Ma, so that you may grow up to be as good as woman as she was.” Having lost his wife and two other children, Richard consistently inquired about Emma’s health, often offering suggestions about how to stay healthy. Most letters were signed “Your Affectionate.” or “Your Loving, Pa.”
In May of 1863, Roberts and his 140th Pennsylvania fought in their first battle at Chancellorsville, Virginia. The unit was in the thick of the action near the Chancellor House. As a memento, Richard sent Emma, “a quarter dollar which I carried her in my pocket during all the days of the Battle of Chancellorsville.”
In June of 1863, the 140th Pennsylvania was on the march in pursuit of Lee’s army during the Gettysburg Campaign. Richard Roberts was sick through much of the march into Pennsylvania. It was a grueling trek along hot, dusty roads. On July 1, Roberts sat on a tree stump outside of Uniontown, Maryland, and penned a quick note to Emma. The closing read, “We are going to march in a few minutes. Be a good girl. Good by my dear. Your affectionate, Pa.” They were the last lines that the father wrote to his daughter.
On July 2, 1863, Lee’s army attacked the Federal position at Gettysburg. The Rebels attacked at now-famous places such as Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Peach Orchard, and the Wheatfield. Roberts and his 140th Pennsylvania were called into action late in the afternoon. They assumed a position on Stony Hill, adjacent to and west of the Wheatfield. There the Keystone State men held the right of the 1st Division, 2nd Corps. Confederates from South Carolina and Georgia assailed their position. “Men of the 140th!” bellowed Roberts as his men went into action, “Recollect that you are now defending your own soil and are fighting to drive the invader from your homes and firesides. I shall therefore expect you to conduct yourselves as in the presence of your wives, your sisters, and your sweethearts, and not disgrace the flag you bear or the name of Pennsylvanians.” The battle raged on and around Stony Hill as Roberts stalked the battleline, reminding his men to “Fire low. Remember, you are Pennsylvanians.” As he prepared to redeploy his regiment, a bullet ripped into Roberts body. He fell dead on the field of battle, his unit driven from Stony Hill. Of the 515 men from the 140th Pennsylvania who entered the action on July 2, 241 were killed, wounded, or captured. Due to the melee of battle, Roberts’s body was not recovered for a few days, and in that time, he was stripped of his valuables, including his sword, scabbard, and sword belt.
In the meantime, letters containing condolences and well wishes from the men of the 140th Pennsylvania streamed into the Pittsburgh area to their newly “adopted” daughter Emma. She was known as the “Daughter of the Regiment.” On May 6, 1864, the sword belt and scabbard of Richard Roberts were “taken from the body of a dead Rebel vol…in the Wilderness…” by a member of the 149th Pennsylvania. It was probably of little consolation to the young girl that her father’s sword belt and scabbard were recovered, but clearly, to Dr. Wishart and the men of the 140th Pennsylvania, it helped them to cope with their grief at the loss of their commanding officer, and they hoped too, that it might help Emma in her healing process. “I look forward to meeting you in person with an interest arising from my relations with your father whom, we all sincerely mourn, and, meantime, commending you to the care of our heavenly Father, the God of all comfort who comforteth [sic] us all in our tribulations.”
Richard Roberts was buried in Beaver Cemetery and Mausoleum. His beloved daughter Emma grew up, and in 1876 married Richard Harter, second cousin of First Lady of the United States Ida Saxton McKinley. The couple moved to Canton, Ohio, and she had three children of her own, two of which lived to adulthood. Emma J. Roberts Harter died in Canton, Ohio, on October 22, 1929, at the age of 75.
To learn more about the Battle of Gettysburg and experience this battle through the eyes of soldiers who were there, join Fold3® and the American Battlefield Trust live from the battlefield on July 1-3, 2021. See artifacts from the battlefield and learn from the experts during this virtual tour of Gettysburg! Click here for more details on this 158th anniversary live stream event.
On April 4, 1943, ten US service personnel outwitted their Japanese guards and escaped from a work camp in the Davao Region of the Philippines. One of those escapees, Lt. Commander Melvyn Harvey McCoy, kept a journal during his imprisonment. After his escape, he gave a detailed report of the brutal treatment of POWs and his remarkable escape. Using his account and other records, we’ve pieced together this amazing WWII story of escape and survival.
Melvyn H. McCoy
Melvyn H. McCoy served as a Radio Material Officer in the 16th Naval District and was stationed in the Philippines. On Christmas Day, 1941, a week before the Japanese entered Manila, McCoy and other personnel evacuated to Corregidor, where they held off Japanese troops until May 6th, when Corregidor fell. McCoy sent the final radio message marking the fall of the island. Along with more than 10,000 Americans and Filipino soldiers, McCoy was taken POW. The men were herded into an enclosed concrete square, where they remained for seven days. There were no toilets and just one water spigot. It was brutally hot. Next, they were packed on merchant vessels and transported to Manila. Just meters from the shore, the men were dunked in the bay and made to swim ashore, then marched through the streets, soaking wet. Some fell, physically unable to make the arduous trek.
Surrender of American troops at Corregidor, Philippine Islands, May 1942
McCoy wound up in Bilibid prison. He described unbearable work detail. One group of 300 prisoners captured at Bataan saw their numbers reduced to 30 after 270 died on the job. McCoy was later transferred to Cabanatuan prison camp where he found more deplorable conditions. He described dead prisoners lying in the barracks and daily fatalities. Prisoners were tortured and starved to death. They also suffered from disease and sickness. Malaria, dysentery, and diphtheria took thousands of lives and there was no medicine available. Some tried to escape but were recaptured and executed. McCoy estimated that 3,400 prisoners died during his time at Cabanatuan.
After six months, McCoy was transferred to Davao Penal Colony. The trip took 11 days on an overcrowded boat. There wasn’t room for all the prisoners, so some stayed topside even though it rained each night. After arriving on land, the prisoners marched 17 miles to the prison. Prison officials were angry when they saw the weakened and diseased condition of the new arrivals, as they expected new workers. After spending several difficult months at Davao, McCoy began plotting an escape.
Cabanatuan Prison Camp
In January 1943, McCoy and nine other enlisted men and officers and began to steal small amounts of food. They needed to build up their strength for the escape. They secreted stolen equipment and supplies in the jungle. On the morning of April 4, 1943, the group left the prison as if they were going on work detail. Instead, they snuck into the jungle, assembled their gear, and began to run.
The escapees, along with two Filipino guides, were pursued by patrols but managed to elude them. For the next five weeks, they traveled mountain paths, swamps, and rivers while playing hide-and-seek with Japanese troops. Along the way, they contended with hunger, sickness, leeches, crocodiles, and exhaustion. They also encountered kindness and hospitality from Filipinos who shared food and lodging.
The escapees linked up with friendly guerilla forces who helped them along the way. With the help of a guerilla radio, they sent messages to officials in Australia and made plans to rendezvous with an American submarine. The sub transported them to Australia where Gen. Douglas MacArthur greeted them and awarded them the Distinguished Service Cross. McCoy and his fellow escapees brought back the first eye-witness account of the atrocities inflicted upon American POWs by Japanese soldiers in the Philippines. Their accounts shocked and infuriated Americans.
To read McCoy’s full report of the escape, click here. To see other records from WWII, search Fold3® today.
