Lost in 1943, WWII Soldier Will Be Laid to Rest in Ridgewood, New York

RIDGEWOOD, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

04.16.2026

Story by Daniela Vestal 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Nicholas J. Governale, 22, of Brooklyn, New York, killed during World War II, will be interred April 24, at Linden Hill Cemetery in Ridgewood, New York. Services and interment will be coordinated by Village Chapels Funeral Home.

In the summer of 1943, Governale was a member of 69th Bombardment Squadron, 42d Bombardment Group (Medium). He was killed on July 10 when his North American B-25C-1 Mitchell medium bomber crashed on takeoff from Carney Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. His remains were not recovered after the war, and he was declared nonrecoverable on May 11, 1949.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Governale on May 15, 2025.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Governale, 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/4375664/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-governale-n/)

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 Village Chapels Funeral Home, 718-458-3000.

• Date Taken: 04.16.2026
• Date Posted: 04.16.2026 10:06
• Story ID: 562859
• Location: RIDGEWOOD, NEW YORK, US
• Hometown: BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, US