08/15/2025
A couple of the soldiers in our unit had the great honor of participating in the laying Pvt. Herbert E. McLaughlin to rest after 83 years.
A local news article about his welcome home: https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/shawano-natives-wwii-remains-identified-honored-decades-later/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMMXs1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFJZmhMSzNZZjFTOWxWaTZMAR5cYgu1rvkzKO-ZSvio9xnQV997zqojf3eHKroNojXEtuijtKPLyK3gmdqX_Q_aem_XrkNtUCtHv1kw1Bd-LU8mQ
Pvt. McLaughlin's Defense POW/MIA profile:
https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzWbrEAE&fbclid=IwY2xjawMMX5NleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEyd3VQYXd1blNhZXlLVE9UAR6QKPDyCcidHoAOZnXxW3foAYNch_Vr3LGhmik9a8BNptKOWjjNRVnIrqapgw_aem_ZTPX25_DE9yCjZC8edP2Ag
88th Readiness Division | U.S. Army Reserve
After 83 years, U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. Herbert E. McLaughlin has been accounted for.
The 31-year-old from Shawano, Wisconsin was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 17th Air Group at Hickam Field when Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. McLaughlin was killed during the four-hour assault that targeted aircraft, ships, and base facilities.
Initially buried at Schofield Barracks Cemetery, his remains were later moved to the Punchbowl in Hawaii when he couldn't be identified in 1947. He was classified as non-recoverable in 1949.
In 2019, DPAA exhumed 12 unknown service members from Hickam Field for analysis. Using advanced anthropological analysis, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosome DNA testing, scientists were able to confirm McLaughlin's identity in December 2024.
A rosette will be placed next to his name at the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, and he will be buried in his hometown of Shawano, Wisconsin.
DPAA is proud to commit to our mission to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing U.S. personnel.
