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X-183 Oct. 19, 2020 Disinterment

From the March 4, 2026 Press Release:

Following the war, the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps’ American Graves Registration Service was charged with recovery and identification of fallen U.S. service personnel in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. From November to December 1947, units from the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company searched for Retzsch, but, after conducting a search of the Bairoko Harbor and Enogai Inlet with no results, it was recommended that the case be closed.

In December 1943, remains that had been interred at the Enogai Cemetery on New Georgia were exhumed to be moved. Two sets of Unknown remains were first reburied in the New Georgia Cemetery and then in 1945 were transferred to Finschhafen Cemetery #3 in Papua New Guinea where they were designated X-182 and X-183 Finschhafen #3. After multiple failed attempts to positively identify both Unknowns, X-182 was buried at what is now the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines and X-183 was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu in 1950.

After researching losses on New Georgia, DPAA recommended disinterment of several Unknowns potentially associated with losses in the Bairoko-Enogai area. X-182 was disinterred in January 2019 and X-183 was disinterred in October 2020. Both were accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.

Source: DPAA ID announcement

Images Source
Caption unless otherwise noted: Members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) participate in a disinterment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020. The ceremony was part of DPAA’s efforts to disinter the remains of unknown service members lost during WWll. DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting of missing personnel to their families and the nation. (all U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall)

A member of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) disinterment team and U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Austin Blocker, a member of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), place a flag on a casket before a disinterment ceremony at the NMCP, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020.
Caskets containing unknown service members lost during the Korean War lay in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific before a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinterment ceremony, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020.
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Austin Blocker and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Walton, members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), place a flag on a casket during a disinterment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020.
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific disinterment team moves a casket during a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinterment ceremony, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) leadership salutes a casket during a DPAA disinterment ceremony, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020.
A casket containing unknown service members lost during WWll is loaded into a truck during a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinterment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2020.

Thank you to the Facebook admin of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham for directing me to the source where I could locate these photos.

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