Remains of World War II Soldier, Ridgeway, Colorado, native, to be buried in Bakersfield, California

FORT KNOX, KY, UNITED STATES

03.21.2024

Story by Fonda Bock 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Pvt. James B. McCartney, a Soldier killed during World War II, will be interred March 30 at Hillcrest Memorial Park & Mortuary, Bakersfield, California. Hillcrest Memorial Park & Mortuary will perform graveside services preceding the interment.

A native of Ridgeway, Colorado, McCartney was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action March 1, 1945, at age 22, while his unit was on patrol near Wildenguth, France. Following the war, McCartney was declared non-recoverable Oct. 8, 1951, after investigators searching for fallen American personnel in the European Theater failed to recover any leads regarding his remains.

Years later, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency historians, conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Wildenguth, found that remains designated X-6492, buried in Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France, could be associated with McCartney. X-6492 was disinterred for laboratory analysis in August 2022.

McCartney was accounted for by the DPAA Sept. 21, 2023, after his remains were identified using dental, anthropological, mitochondrial DNA and autosomal DNA analysis.

For additional information about Pvt. McCartney, go to: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3699337/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-mccartney-j/

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact the Army Casualty Office at [phone] and/or Hillcrest Memorial Park & Mortuary, [phone].

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• Date Taken: 03.21.2024
• Date Posted: 03.21.2024 10:41
• Story ID: 466741
• Location: FORT KNOX, KY, US