FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Capt. Willibald C. Bianchi, 29, killed during World War II, will be interred May 2 in the New Ulm City Cemetery in New Ulm, Minn. Services and interment will be coordinated by Minnesota Valley Funeral Home.
In 1942, Bianchi served as commander of Company D, 1st Battalion, 45th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Scouts, on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
On Feb. 3, he volunteered to help clear a series of Japanese machine gun nests and despite being wounded multiple times, he continued leading the attack, earning him the Medal of Honor for his actions.
On April 9, he was captured 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 shipOryoku Maru. Unaware the allied POWs were on board, a U.S. carrier-borne aircraft attacked theOryoku Maru, which eventually sank in Subic Bay.
Bianchi was then transported to Takao, Formosa, known today as Taiwan, aboard theEnoura Maru. The Japanese reported that Bianchi was killed on Jan. 9 when U.S. forces attacked and sank theEnoura Maru.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Bianchi on Aug. 11, 2025.
U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting descendants and 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 Minnesota Valley Funeral Home 507-354-2312.