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A young Chicago soldier, Jeremiah Mahoney, who fought in World War II, remained unidentified for almost eight decades.
Mahoney was part of an anti-tank unit battling German forces in France when he was killed in an artillery attack in 1945. His body could not be recovered at the time.
Decades later, researchers used DNA analysis to identify Mahoney’s remains, which were exhumed from a Belgian cemetery where he had been buried as an unknown soldier.
His nephew, Jerry Mannell, expressed both joy and sadness that Mahoney had finally been identified, but praised the Army for its efforts.
Mahoney will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in spring 2025, a century after his birth.
Over 72,000 American soldiers who fought in World War II remain unaccounted for, along with thousands from other conflicts.