A World War II veteran from Roanoke has finally been identified, according to the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Accounting Agency or DPAA.
U.S. Army Sergeant Mayburn Hudson, 21, was killed in World War II.
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He was assigned to serve with Company F in the 2nd Battalion, the 330th Infantry Regiment of the 83rd Division in France in August 1944.
On Aug. 8, Hudson’s unit came under German fire.
Company F was given the order to storm a German position on a hill called “The Citadel,” but was faced with heavy fire.
The 330th Infantry Regiment suffered many losses, including Hudson, but because of the intense fighting, his body couldn’t be recovered.
He was initially listed as Missing in Action, and a few months later, his remains were still unaccounted for in Jan. 1945, when the War Department issued a “Report of Death.”
In Nov. 1944, historians said the American Graves Registration Command received word that several Americans were buried near Parame, close to where Hudson was reportedly killed. The group searched the area, finding several sets of American remains, but were unable to identify one of them as Hudson.
The unidentified remains were then buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery in St. James, France, now known as the Britany American Cemetery.
Research by DPAA historians found that one of the remains could be associated with Hudson. The Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission workers exhumed the remains in June 2019, and transferred the remains to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
On Dec. 14, 2023, Hudson was accounted for. To identify his remains, scientists from the DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as other circumstantial evidence. Scientists also used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Hudson’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie Saint Martin, France, and a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
He’ll be buried in Lynchburg on Aug. 7. For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.