Soldier, Missing Since World War II, To Be Buried With Honors In Wisconsin

NEKOOSA, WI—Army Pfc. Gerald Wipfli, missing since World War II, is finally coming home to Wisconsin. The World War II soldier’s remains will be buried with full military honors on Saturday, Sept. 23, in his hometown of Nekoosa.

The remains of Wipfli, who had been missing since November 1944 when he and his infantry unit were in a battle with German forces, were found in April 2010 and positively identified at a lab in Hawaii with DNA from family members earlier this year, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

For the family, Wipfli’s return to Nekoosa provides closure, said his niece in an interview with WAOW-TV.

"It was always kind of like Gerald was the legend of the family," said his niece, Nancy Weaver. "We all knew that he had been lost in WWII, but didn't really know details."

Wipfli had been among 33 soldiers missing in his company after the 1944 battle, which took place near Schmidt, Germany, according to the Department of Defense. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 4, 1944. When his remains were not accounted for, he was declared non-recoverable by the Department of Defense in December 1950.

German utility workers, however, unearthed human remains while installing electrical lines in April 2010. The German War Graves Commission then excavated the site and sent remains to the laboratory in Honolulu, Ha., for analysis.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 73,004 service members still unaccounted for from World War II, according to the Department of Defense.

Image provided by the Department of Defense