Remains of western Pennsylvania WWII soldier missing since 1945 identified
By Madeline Bartos
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The remains of a western Pennsylvania World War II soldier who went missing in action when he was 20 years old have been identified.
U.S. Army Private 1st Class Harry H. Hosfelt Jr. from Connellsville, Fayette County was killed in action on Feb. 9, 1944 when his unit was engaged by German forces near the town of Cisterna di Latina, Italy, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said. His body wasn’t recovered and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war.
After the war, the American Graves Registration Command, which was tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European theatre, found remains in 1945 near the small hamlet of Ponte Rotto that investigators believed to be associated with Hosfelt. There wasn’t enough data to make a positive ID, so his remains were buried at a cemetery in Italy. He was declared non-recoverable in 1948.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Anzio battlefield, the DPAA said one of its historians determined that remains found near Ponte Rotto could be Hosfelt’s. The remains were disinterred in 2021 and sent to the DPAA lab for identification. Using dental and anthropological analysis as well as mtDNA analysis, Hosfelt’s remains were identified.
Hosfelt’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the cemetery where he had been buried along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to show he’s been accounted for, the DPPA said.
He’ll be buried in Connellsville on June 29. For funeral information, friends and family can contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490.
The DPAA said between World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and other conflicts involving the U.S., more than 80,000 American service members remain missing.
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