Lost in 1941, WWII Soldier Will Be Laid to Rest at Omaha National Cemetery
In late 1941, Pierce was a member of the 7th Materiel Squadron, 5th Air Base Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Pierce was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Pierce died Nov. 22, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 807.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Pierce on Jan. 6, 2026.
For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Pierce, please visit: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4442925/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-pierce-r/
U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.
Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact Braman Mortuary, 402-895-3400.
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