The remains of U.S. Army Air Force Pvt. 1st Class David Hansen, a Milwaukee native who perished during World War II, have been identified, bringing closure to a decades-long mystery.
Hansen, who died as a prisoner of war, was accounted for on August 23 using dental and anthropological analysis, as well as advanced DNA technology, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
Hansen, just 25 years old, was part of the Headquarters Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in late 1941. Following the fall of Bataan in 1942, he and thousands of other U.S. and Filipino soldiers endured the infamous 65-mile Bataan Death March before being held at Cabanatuan POW Camp #1. The camp claimed over 2,500 lives, including Hansen’s, who passed away on June 28, 1942.
Originally buried in a mass grave at the camp, Hansen’s remains were exhumed post-war by the American Graves Registration Service and reinterred at the Manila American Cemetery as “Unknown.” In 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, the DPAA reexamined remains from Hansen’s grave, employing mitochondrial DNA analysis to confirm his identity.
“This painstaking work honors the sacrifices of those who served,” the DPAA emphasized in a release. Hansen’s identification underscores the ongoing commitment to bringing closure to families of fallen service members.
Hansen will be laid to rest in Brookfield, Wisconsin, with burial arrangements pending. His story reminds us of the enduring cost of war and the importance of never forgetting those who gave their lives for freedom.
Credit to FOX12 for bringing this poignant story to light.
