FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. Bennett H. Waters, 26, of Blackshear, Georgia, killed during World War II, will be interred April 4, in his hometown. Funeral services and interment will be overseen by Pearson-Dial Funeral Home.
In 1942, Waters was assigned to 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group on the Bataan Peninsula, in the Philippines. He was captured on April 9 and held as a prisoner of war by the Empire of Japan in the Philippines until 1944 when the Japanese military moved POWs to Manila for transport to Japan aboard the transport ship Oryoku Maru. Unaware the allied POWs were on board, a U.S. carrier-borne aircraft attacked the Oryoku Maru, which eventually sank in Subic Bay. Waters was then transported to Takao, Formosa, known today as Taiwan, aboard the Enoura Maru. The Japanese reported that Waters died on Jan. 9, 1945, when U.S. forces attacked and sank the Enoura Maru.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Watters on June 18, 2025.
For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Watters, please visit: [https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4281721/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-patton-m/](https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4444103/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-waters-b/)
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 Pearson-Dial Funeral Home 912-449-6626.
| Date Taken: |
04.01.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
04.01.2026 11:26 |
| Story ID: |
561730 |
| Location: |
BLACKSHEAR, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: |
BLACKSHEAR, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: |
18 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Lost in 1942, WWII Soldier Will Be Laid to Rest in Blackshear, Georgia, by Daniela Vestal, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Subscribe
