ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. — U.S. Army Sgt. John Radanovich, 23, fought in World War II and was reported missing in action during the war. On May 11, 2023, he was accounted for through identification methods, according to press releases from the First Army and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
The sergeant from the First Army, headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal, was laid to rest Saturday, Aug. 12 in his hometown Mount Olive, Illinois. He was buried at Union Miners Cemetery and the town is located about 45 miles away from St. Louis.
Radanovich was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1944, after battling German troops in Hurtgen Forest, Germany. He was never reported as a prisoner of war by the country and his remains were not found immediately, according to the release. In December 1945, the War Department issued "a presumptive finding of death" for Radanovich.
Remains were recovered from the Hurtgen Forest in 1946 that one historian said could possibly belong to Radanovich. The DPAA was able to identify them using anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also helped through DNA analysis.
The sergeant's name is on the Walls of the Missing in Margarten, Netherlands alongside others from World War II that are still missing. According to the release, a rosette will be placed by his name to tell people he has been accounted for.
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