World War II soldier from Iowa to be buried in hometown of Lake City nearly 80 years after death

Grace Altenhofen, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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Merl W. Holm, an Iowa soldier who was killed in action during World War II, will be buried in his hometown of Lake City nearly 80 years after his death.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in a news release that Holm's remains were identified April 15. Holm’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, where a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

In November 1942, at 22 years old, Holm was assigned to the Company K, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, which deployed in present-day Papua New Guinea.

There, in an effort to neutralize threats against the Allied center of communications in the area, Holm’s unit attempted to flank the enemy defensive lines, according to the news release. Holm was reported as killed in action on Nov. 26, 1942, and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

After the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Service, the military unit responsible for recovering missing American personnel in the Pacific Theater, searched battle areas and crash sites in New Guinea through 1948.

Merl W. Holm, an Iowa soldier who was killed in action during WWII, will be buried in his hometown of Lake City on July 9.
Merl W. Holm, an Iowa soldier who was killed in action during WWII, will be buried in his hometown of Lake City on July 9.

"A number" of remains were found close to the site where Holm died, according to the release, but none were able to be identified as Holm. He was declared non-recoverable on Dec. 19, 1949.

The unidentified remains from Papua New Guinea were eventually interred as unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, a memorial site in the Philippines.

Organizations began researching service members from Papua New Guinea in 1995, and the research led to the disinterment of two sets of remains in 2017. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for analysis.

Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, mitochondrial DNA analysis and circumstantial evidence to identify Holm's remains.

Holm will be buried on July 9 in Lake City. For funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office or Lampe and Powers Funeral Home in Lake City.

Grace Altenhofen is a news reporter for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at galtenhofen@registermedia.com or on Twitter @gracealtenhofen.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: WWII soldier will be buried in Iowa hometown 80 years after dying