More than 75 years after fighting in the siege of Myitkyina (Myt’keena), Burma during WWII, Cpl. Ralph L. Bennett is returning home to Iowa.  Bennett, a 22-year-old Ames, Iowa native serving with the Headquarters Company, 209th Engineer Combat Battalion, was last seen June 13, 1944 as his unit participated in the siege of Myitkyina, after they successfully took an airfield west of Myitkyina from Japanese control. After the battle at Myitkyina, Bennett was reported Killed in Action (KIA). Despite initial efforts, U.S. forces were unable to recover Bennett’s remains.

Cpl. Ralph L. Bennett

Cpl. Ralph L. Bennett

The remains of fallen U.S. troops in the region were buried in at least eight different temporary cemeteries and numerous isolated burial locations, according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Eventually, all known burials were concentrated into the U.S. Military Cemetery at Myitkyina, then later disinterred and transferred to the U.S. Military Cemetery at Kalaikunda, India.

One set of remains was reportedly disinterred in October 1947 and transferred to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, where they were unable to be identified. They were subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, in March 1949. Due to new historical investigations and new technology that could link an identification to the remains, they were disinterred in July 2018 by the DPAA. Dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, were used in the identification of Bennett’s remains in 2018.

Bennett’s military awards and honors include the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with one bronze service star), World War II Victory Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and Honorable Service Lapel Button – World War II.  A memorial service will be held at the Ames Municipal Cemetery, 2019 E. 9th St., Ames, Iowa this Saturday, August 3rd at 11:00 a.m., with full military honors provided by the Iowa National Guard. The public is welcome to attend the memorial service.