MIA UPDATE

VFW ACTION CORPS - 11/7/2021

-- Army Pvt. Stephen C. Mason, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was assigned to Headquarters Company, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action while trying to destroy an enemy machine-gun position near Beek, Netherlands, on Nov. 3, 1944. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. He was buried in North Arlington, New Jersey on Nov. 3, 2021. Read about Mason.


-- Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Pellerito, 22, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against a stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Pellerito was reported killed on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. He will be buried on Nov. 30, 2021, in Augusta, Michigan. Read about Pellerito.


-- Marine Pfc. Walter L. Collier, 20, of Burbank, California, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Collier. He will be buried on Dec. 8, 2021, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu. Read about Collier.


-- Army Pfc. Michaux Turbeville, 31, of Dillon, South Carolina, was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after a fighting withdrawal near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. The date has yet to be determined. Read about Turbeville.