After 77 Years, US Soldier Killed in WWII Identified

Pfc. Sanford Keith Bowen died fighting in France in early 1945
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 13, 2022 2:18 PM CDT
Military Identifies Ohio Soldier Slain in WWII
Pfc. Sanford Keith Bowen.   (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.)

The remains of an Ohio soldier killed while fighting in France during World War II have now been positively identified, Defense Department officials announced Monday. Pfc. Sanford Keith Bowen, 26, of Ashland, was part of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, the AP reports. The unit was attempting to secure terrain near Reipertswiller, France, in January 1945 when they were surrounded by German forces, officials said. Only two men from his company made it through German lines, and the rest were captured or killed.

Bowen’s body could not be immediately recovered, due to the heavy fighting. Historians with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said their scientists used anthropological analysis to identify Bowen. He was actually accounted for back in March, officials said, but the announcement was delayed until his family received a full briefing. Bowen will be buried July 22 in Shiloh, Ohio. News 5 Cleveland reports that to show Bowen has been accounted for, a rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinoze, France.

(More World War II stories.)

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