NEW HAVEN, Conn. — At the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the epitaph reads: "Here rests in honored glory the American Soldier, Known but to God."
For one Connecticut soldier, his remains have finally been identified and brought home.
Madison native Army Sergeant John E. Hurlburt, of the 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, was reported killed in action on July 7, 1944, during the Battle of Saipan. He was 26 years old.
Military officials say Hurlburt's remains were not known to have been recovered. In 1948, remains labeled as Unknown X-20 were disinterred from a grave of the 27th Infantry Division Cemetery and included Hurlburt's dog tags.
However, despite the tags, it was concluded at the time by the American Grave Registration Service that X-20 was not Hurlburt. The remains were then buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines two years later.
Through the research of historians of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), X-20 was possibly associated with one of eight service members including Hurlburt.
X-20 was disinterred again in 2018 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for analysis.
On August 19, 2020, Sgt. Hurlburt was finally accounted for by the DPAA. Military officials say his remains were identified using circumstantial evidence, along with dental, anthropological, and mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Sgt. Hurlburt's remains will be laid to rest at the Beaverdale Memorial Park Cemetary on August 14. Services will be performed by Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home, East Haven before the interment.
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