World War II soldier from NY identified 77 years after he was killed in France
A Binghamton, N.Y., man who fought and died in World War II was finally identified earlier this year.
Morris Swackhammer had been missing since he was killed by German machine-gun fire in France on Nov. 22, 1944. He was 20 years old.
Swackhammer’s unit, Company C, 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, had to leave his body behind because of the heavy fire, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Friday in a press release.
His remains were removed from the battlefield in France’s Alsace region, initially taken to a French cemetery and eventually interred at Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium.
In July 2019, officials at DPAA determined they had enough evidence to have Swackhammer’s body taken from Belgium and flown to Nebraska, where it would undergo DNA testing to help possibly identify him.
Swackhammer was accounted for on June 28, 2021. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
