DNA Identifies WWII Soldier John Walko After 80 Years, Returning Him to Pennsylvania
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 25
DNA Identifies WWII Soldier John Walko After 80 Years, Returning Him to Pennsylvania
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 25
John A Walko, a US Army private killed in Germany on Oct. 20, 1944, was returned to Commodore, Pennsylvania and interred Wednesday after being identified more than 80 years later.
DNA testing, anthropological analysis and material evidence led DPAA scientists to match Walko to remains long labeled "X-99 Henri-Chapelle," an unidentified set recovered after the Battle of Aachen.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency deemed Walko accounted for in July 2025 after his family, initially skeptical of a 2021 DNA request, submitted samples that helped confirm the identification.
Commodore residents lined Main Street with flags as veterans escorted his hearse from Pittsburgh, closing a wartime disappearance his 96-year-old sister said the family had awaited for nearly eight decades.
The case is part of a broader US effort to identify WWII dead through modern forensics; DPAA also announced this month that 2nd Lt. Robert J. Barrat had been identified and will be buried May 27.
How does the DPAA prioritize which of the 71,000 missing WWII soldiers to identify next?
After 80 years, how does a soldier's return finally heal a family's 'generational grieving'?
Could a 'DNA-first' strategy resolve thousands of MIA cases faster than current methods?