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FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Warrant Officer Junior Grade William J. McMichael, 36, killed during World War II, will be interred Oct. 7, in Gap National Cemetery, Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Catagnus Funeral Home will coordinate graveside services preceding the interment.
McMichael was held as a prisoner of war by the Empire of Japan in the Philippines from 1942 to 1944. When the Japanese military moved POWs to Manila for transport to Japan aboard the transport ship Oryoku Maru, a U.S. carrier-borne aircraft, unaware allied POWs were aboard, attacked the ship which eventually sank in Subic Bay. After a series of land and naval transfers, McMichael was transported to Takao, Formosa, aboard the Enoura Maru. The Japanese government reported that McMichael died on January 9, 1945, when U.S. forces sank the Enoura Maru.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for McMichael on April 3, 2025.
U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.
Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact Catagnus Funeral Home, 610-367-4441.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2025 09:07 |
| Story ID: | 549657 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | BOYERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 397 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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