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Patricia Sprinkle receives the U.S. flag from her uncle’s, U.S. Army Air Force Pvt. Bernard Curran, in Section 62 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, June 2, 2025. Curran was a prisoner of war during World War II.
From the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA):
In late 1941, Curran was a member of 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Curran was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Curran died Nov. 14, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 723.
Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Four of the sets of remains from Common Grave 723 were identified, while the remaining seven were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns.
In June 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 723 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Curran’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 (mtDNA) analysis.
Curran was officially accounted for on August 2, 2024. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
(U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released)
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2025 11:53 |
| Photo ID: | 9077761 |
| VIRIN: | 250602-A-IW468-2917 |
| Resolution: | 7360x4912 |
| Size: | 19.87 MB |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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