Remains of World War II Soldier to be buried in Taylor, Texas

FORT KNOX, KY, UNITED STATES

03.27.2024

Story by Fonda Bock 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Leroy C. Cloud, a Soldier killed during World War II, will be interred April 6 at Taylor City Cemetery, Taylor, Texas. Providence Funeral Home, Taylor, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.

A native of Thrall, Texas, Cloud was assigned to Company A, 744th Tank Battalion. He went missing in action July 26, 1944, at age 24, after the M5A1 Stuart light tank, on which he was serving, was struck by an enemy shoulder-fired rocket while his unit engaged in battle with German forces at Saint-Germain-d’Elle, France.

Cloud was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Aug. 29, 2023, after his remains were exhumed for laboratory analysis from Normandy American Cemetery, Normandy, France, in April 2018.
The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division, Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in the process of locating family members of Soldiers from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The process begins with locating the family member most closely related to the missing servicemember, known as the Primary Next of Kin, followed by a request for family reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.

Once a servicemember has been identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the PCRB notifies and briefs the family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process, to include burial with full military honors.

For additional information about Staff Sgt. Cloud, go to: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3649142/tanker-accounted-for-from-wwii-cloud-l/

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact the Army Casualty Office at [phone] and/or Providence Funeral Home, [phone].
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• Date Taken: 03.27.2024
• Date Posted: 03.27.2024 09:03
• Story ID: 467134
• Location: FORT KNOX, KY, US
• Hometown: THRALL, TX, US