1LT Alexander Nininger 1 – Remains of Medal of Honor Recipient Not Identified Because Army Can’t Unscrew Their Screwup In the early, dark days of World War II, America needed something to feel good about and the courage of 1LT Alexander Nininger was just the thing. Sandy came through for America and American bureaucracy returned the favor by consigning his remains to eternity as an Unknown Soldier.
1LT Alexander Nininger 2 – The Classified Coverup That's exactly what the Army's Memorial Command in Washington did. They had received conflicting information as to the burial location of a hero who had received the Medal of Honor. They dared not be wrong so they ignored all the facts and did nothing - just covered their tracks.
1LT Alexander Nininger 3 – What Classified Files? No Classified Files Here The Nininger family was equally determined to recover the remains of their son and bury him at home.
1LT Alexander Nininger 4 – Doing the Same Thing and Expecting a Different Result On May 25 of 2017, the families of seven MIA's filed a lawsuit in Federal Court demanding the return of the remains of their missing family members whom they believed were buried as Unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery. The lead plaintiff in this litigation was John Patterson, Nephew of 1LT Alexander R. Nininger. He had been researching the case since before most of the government experts were born.
1LT Alexander Nininger 5 – Hell Hath No Fury Like a Confused Bureaucrat The army had a problem. The public wanted to know where their hero was and a number of members of congress wanted to know what the hell was going on.
1LT Alexander Nininger 6 – Where Are They Now? They were good enough to die for their country, but their country wasn't good enough to bury them in the country they gave their lives for. The Nininger tragedy was compounded when other young Philippine Scout officers were also consigned to eternity as Unknowns by the same bumbling Army brass who mismanaged the identification of Nininger. The cases had become so intertwined, so political, that the identification of any one of them would require explaining what happened to the others. The easy way out was to let sleeping lieutenants lie - don't identify their remains, classify the records as national security secrets, and deny any knowledge of them.
More Mis-identifications – 2nd Lt. George M. Johnson – Staff Sgt. Jack R. Busch, Jr. Win some. Lose some. Screw some up totally. One reason that DPAA hates to identify WWII remains is because sometimes the servicemember has already been identified and the gov'ment folks have some 'splaining to do. You can read between the lines of this DPAA news release.
PFC Juan Gutierrez – Wrong remains sent to the wrong family. Another Misidentification - the case of PFC Juan F. Gutierrez. Mistakes are a fact of life. What counts is the response to errors. Ever wonder why the U.S. Government does NOT want to identify the missing from World War II? Read on.
1LT Ira Cheaney 1 – Who was buried at West Point?A disgraced commander tries to rehabilitate his reputation Many readers are familiar with 1LT Alexander “Sandy” Nininger, the first man awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II. Not so many know of his best friend, 1LT Ira Cheaney, recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross. Their stories are as intertwined in death as they were in life. What follows is one chapter in a story of great heroism offset by total bungling and corruption by the U.S. Government that continues to this day.
1LT Ira Cheaney 2 – Hide and Seek at the West Point Cemetery 1LT Ira Cheaney's remains were identified, then misplaced, then buried at West Point. Then the Army buried the report that showed they had buried the wrong remains. Ira Cheaney’s remains had been identified and his family wanted him buried at the U.S. Military Academy so the Army obliged and provided some unidentified remains and a headstone with Cheaney's name on it. Problem solved until someone figured out that they had buried the wrong remains and they might be those of a Medal of Honor recipient.
Hidden in Plain Sight The Major James O'Donovan Story, Part 1 MAJ O’Donovan, a highly decorated U.S. Army officer, served in the Philippine Islands during WWII. In the Battle of Bataan he led attacks at the most advanced positions, and proved to be an inspiring leader and an aggressive, courageous fighter. The Philippine defenders put up a stubborn fight, but in 5 months the battle was lost. Jim suffered on the Death March, and died needlessly of Beriberi at Cabanatuan POW camp. Ten years later, his widow was informed that his remains could not be identified. What follows is the story of Major James “Jim” O’Donovan, his heroic military service, tragic loss, and the family’s ongoing effort to find his lost remains for final burial on American soil.
Hidden In Plain Sight, pt 2The Major James O'Donovan Story, Part 2 His first trial came at the place called Layac Junction, gateway to the Bataan peninsula. The mission was to delay the Japanese Army, buying time for defenses to be made further south at the Main Line of Resistance (MLR). After an 8-hour artillery barrage, the Japanese attacked. Two companies from 1st battalion of the 31st Infantry fled the defensive line, exposing the flanks of adjoining units. MAJ O’Donovan, with two companies from 3rd battalion, rushed forward under fire amidst constant shelling to counter-attack and restore the line. For his actions he was awarded the Silver Star Citation and the Bronze Star Medal.
Hidden In Plain Sight, pt 3The Maj James O'Donovan Story - The Bataan Death March and Prison Camps Upon surrender, the Philippine defenders would be led out of Bataan, because they were in the way of the next offensive, a month long artillery bombardment of the island fortress of Corregidor. The Japanese army gathered a total of 78,000 American and Filipino soldiers, looted them, and in groups of 100 marched them out of the peninsula. Hardly any consideration was given to the sick, injured, or exhausted. Falling behind, stopping to drink, getting out of line, all meant execution. Sadists murdered and tortured men for fun. Men were forced to bury other men alive. Corpses lined the 65 mile trek to POW Camp O’Donnell. The death toll was five to ten thousand Filipinos and about 650 Americans.
Hidden In Plain Sight – pt 4 The Maj James O'Donovan Story Following the surrender, the fate of Major O’Donovan was unknown and his official status was Missing in Action. His wife had reason to hope, based on news reports, that he was alive, a POW of the Japanese. Sadly, bad news trickled in year after year. The first news came in March, 1943 when the US Gov’t confirmed that MAJ O’Donovan was reported to be a POW of the Japanese (17 months after his death). Four months later his wife received a telegram informing her that he died a Prisoner of the Japanese. In the years that followed, correspondence was sent regarding the efforts of the Government to recover the remains of Major O’Donovan. Finally in 1952, Ten years after his death, a letter arrived summarizing their findings: