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FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of Army Sgt. Richard G. Hammond, a Soldier killed during World War II, will be interred May 29 at Northwood Ridge Cemetery, Northwood, New Hampshire. Purdy Memorial Chapel, Lee, New Hampshire, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.
A native of Northwood, Hammond was assigned to Company A, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, in the North African Theater as a crew commander of an M3 Gun Motor Carriage “half-track.” He went missing in action Feb. 17, 1943, at age 24, after his half-track was struck by an enemy high-explosive tank shell while engaged in battle with German forces near Sbeitla, Tunisia. The explosion threw Hammond several yards from the wreckage.
He was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Sept 5, 2023, after his remains were exhumed from the U.S. Military Cemetery in Constantine, Algeria a year earlier.
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 Sgt. Hammond, go to: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Press-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3708080/tanker-accounted-for-from-wwii-hammond-r/
Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490 and/or Purdy Memorial Chapel, 603-868-2100.
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| Date Taken: | 05.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2024 09:16 |
| Story ID: | 472088 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, US |
| Hometown: | MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, US |
| Hometown: | NORTHWOOD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, US |
| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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