ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — An American WWII Soldier whose remains were only identified in 2018 is finally coming home to be laid to rest in his hometown of Boonville after landing at the Rochester International Airport Today.
U.S. Army Private Harland J. Hennessey was born on September 1, 1918. He died of disease in a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines in 1942 following the infamous Bataan Death March. Years later, the U.S. Army moved his and nine other Americans’ unmarked grave to Manila Cemetery.
In 2018, he was transferred to Honolulu. Much later, they were able to identify Hennessey using forensic DNA testing and dental records. Using his nephews’ and cousins’ DNA, a positive identification of Pvt. Hennessey was established, and in 2024, it was announced he was coming home to New York…