Remains of World War II soldier to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery

FORT KNOX, Ky. (WOLF) — The remains of an American soldier killed during World War II will finally be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, more than 75 years after he was killed while fighting Nazis in Europe.

Army Pfc. Francis P. Martin was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. He wasa native of Scranton, Pa.

In January 1945, Martin's unit penetrated the German lines near Reipertswiller, France, leaving its flanks open to German forces.

Martin became missing in action on Jan. 16, 1945, at age 25, when he was bringing rations to a truck convoy on the front lines, and was ambushed.

Over the next few days, German forces surrounded the 157th forces, preventing any search for Martin or the recovery of his body. There was no evidence in captured German records that he survived the ambush or was held as a prisoner of war, so the War Department— predecessor to the Defense Department — issued a finding of death for him on Jan. 17, 1946.

Later, remains were discovered by the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater. They found 37 unidentified sets of American remains around Reipertswiller, but since they were unable to identify any of them as Martin at that time, he was declared non-recoverable on Oct. 15, 1951.

But, historians with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) conducting ongoing research into soldiers missing from combat around Reipertswiller found Unknown X-6373 Neuville — buried at Henri-Chappelle American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site near Liège, Belgium — could be associated with Martin.

X-6373 was disinterred in August 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., for analysis.

Finally, the DPAA was able to account for Martin on June 21, 2022, after his remains were identified using dental, anthropological, Y chromosome DNA, and autosomal DNA analysis.

Next, graveside services for Army Pfc. Francis P. Martin will be performed by Everly-Wheatley Funerals and Cremation, Alexandria, Va., preceding the interment next Friday, March 24.

Martin's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Épinal American Cemetery — an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Dinoze, France — along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.