This weekend Sherrill and I will be going to a conference for POW/MIA. This is in reference to
the body of Uncle Curtis Pound's remains never being found after WW11. I have been in contact with the government for about a year now, and finally today I receive this information.
The red Circles don't line up with the maps. I can provide you with the correct image if you wish.
CURTIS POUND
Private First Class (PFC), U.S. Army
PERSONAL INFORMATION: Private First Class Curtis Pound, serial number 6964730, entered the Army from Richland, South Carolina, on 7 September 1939.1 He served with Company G, 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in the European Theater during World War II. Private First Class Pound was killed on D-Day, 6 June 1944, at Normandy, France, when the 4th Infantry Division was at the forefront of the assault. His remains were not recovered. Today he is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.2 The details of PFC Pound’s loss are recorded in his Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF).3
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS: On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the western Allies launched Operation OVERLORD. The invasion of northern France was the culmination of years of planning. At 6:30 a.m., or H-Hour, British, Canadian, and American armed forces came ashore on the beaches of Normandy (see Figure 1). The 4th Infantry Division, part of First U.S. Army’sVII Corps, would land on the beach codenamed “Utah” (see Figure 2). Its immediate objectives were to gain control of the coast road behind Utah that ran parallel to the beach and to secure the four exit roads (or causeways) off the beach. The division would then move inland and contact the paratroopers of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions that had dropped several miles behind the beaches earlier that morning. Once the beachhead was established, additional forces could come ashore and widen the front. The 4th Infantry Division would also be positioned to advance northward, up the Cotentin Peninsula, to secure the port of Cherbourg.4
Private First Class Pound’s unit sailed across the Channel from England aboard the USSBarnett.5 As H-Hour neared, U.S. Army Air Force bombers and then U.S. Navy ships bombarded German beach defenses. The 2d battalion soldiers climbed down cargo nets on the side of the ship into the waiting landing craft, or Higgins boats, in the water below. Twenty Higgins boats, each containing a 30-man assault team, would make the initial 6:30 a.m. landing. Ten would hit the beach in the sector codenamed “Tare Green,” while the others would come ashore at “Uncle Red” (see Figure 3). Rough weather and strong tides, however, pushed most of the boats almost 1,000 yards off course to the south.6
1 Enlistment information for Curtis Pound, 6964730, Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946, World War II Army Enlistment Records, Record Group (RG) 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD. Searchable database accessible from this web address: www.aad.archives.gov
2 World War II Honor Roll listing for Curtis Pound, Private First Class (PFC), 6964730, American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), http://www.abmc.gov
3 Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for Curtis Pound, PFC, 6964730, RG 92: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO.
4 Stephen E. Ambrose, D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 112, 119.
5 Joseph Balkoski, Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airborne Operations on D-Day, June 6, 1944(Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2005), 337.
6 Ambrose, D-Day, 275; 8th Infantry Regiment, “After Action Report,” IDPF for PFC Pound.
Private First Class (PFC), U.S. Army
PERSONAL INFORMATION: Private First Class Curtis Pound, serial number 6964730, entered the Army from Richland, South Carolina, on 7 September 1939.1 He served with Company G, 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in the European Theater during World War II. Private First Class Pound was killed on D-Day, 6 June 1944, at Normandy, France, when the 4th Infantry Division was at the forefront of the assault. His remains were not recovered. Today he is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.2 The details of PFC Pound’s loss are recorded in his Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF).3
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS: On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the western Allies launched Operation OVERLORD. The invasion of northern France was the culmination of years of planning. At 6:30 a.m., or H-Hour, British, Canadian, and American armed forces came ashore on the beaches of Normandy (see Figure 1). The 4th Infantry Division, part of First U.S. Army’sVII Corps, would land on the beach codenamed “Utah” (see Figure 2). Its immediate objectives were to gain control of the coast road behind Utah that ran parallel to the beach and to secure the four exit roads (or causeways) off the beach. The division would then move inland and contact the paratroopers of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions that had dropped several miles behind the beaches earlier that morning. Once the beachhead was established, additional forces could come ashore and widen the front. The 4th Infantry Division would also be positioned to advance northward, up the Cotentin Peninsula, to secure the port of Cherbourg.4
Private First Class Pound’s unit sailed across the Channel from England aboard the USSBarnett.5 As H-Hour neared, U.S. Army Air Force bombers and then U.S. Navy ships bombarded German beach defenses. The 2d battalion soldiers climbed down cargo nets on the side of the ship into the waiting landing craft, or Higgins boats, in the water below. Twenty Higgins boats, each containing a 30-man assault team, would make the initial 6:30 a.m. landing. Ten would hit the beach in the sector codenamed “Tare Green,” while the others would come ashore at “Uncle Red” (see Figure 3). Rough weather and strong tides, however, pushed most of the boats almost 1,000 yards off course to the south.6
1 Enlistment information for Curtis Pound, 6964730, Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946, World War II Army Enlistment Records, Record Group (RG) 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD. Searchable database accessible from this web address: www.aad.archives.gov
2 World War II Honor Roll listing for Curtis Pound, Private First Class (PFC), 6964730, American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), http://www.abmc.gov
3 Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for Curtis Pound, PFC, 6964730, RG 92: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO.
4 Stephen E. Ambrose, D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 112, 119.
5 Joseph Balkoski, Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airborne Operations on D-Day, June 6, 1944(Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2005), 337.
6 Ambrose, D-Day, 275; 8th Infantry Regiment, “After Action Report,” IDPF for PFC Pound.
Staff Sergeant (S Sgt) Hollis L. Chessor was a member of PFC Pound’s platoon in Company G.He explained that the platoon was shelled by enemy mortars on Uncle Red Beach. When the men took cover on the ground, shrapnel hit PFC Pound and another soldier. Private First Class Pound told S Sgt Chessor that he was slightly wounded in the leg and that he was going to head to the rear to seek medical aid. Staff Sergeant Chessor never saw him again. Staff Sergeant Frank E. Fields, another unit member, similarly recalled, “[PFC Pound] was wounded in the rightleg and the last time I saw him, he was walking toward the rear.”7
SEARCH AND RECOVERY: Private First Class Pound’s name initially appeared on a casualty list along with the designation “Lightly Wounded in Action” (LWA) on 6 June 1944. His status was subsequently changed to Missing in Action (MIA), effective the same date. On 20 April 1945, the Army Casualty Branch contacted the European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (ETOUSA) to inquire about the change. According to a letter from Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, PFC Pound’s 6 June 1944 wounding was reported on a casualty slip, but his name never appeared on any medical or field hospital admission and disposition reports. Captain (Capt) William B. Johnson completed PFC Pound’s casualty slip, but he was killed in action the following month on 24 July 1944. Consequently, the 4th Infantry Division determined, “In viewof the fact that the whereabouts of [the] soldier could not be discovered, higher headquartersrequested this office submit a change of status report showing soldier MIA.”8 On 7 June 1945,one year and one day after PFC Pound’s reported loss, the War Department reviewed thecircumstances of his case, and having received no evidence that he had been captured by enemy forces or otherwise survived the war, Army officials issued a presumptive finding of death.9
Following the end of hostilities, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, was the unit tasked with investigating and recovering deceased and missing American personnel in the European Theater. During the course of postwar search and recovery operations across Europe, graves registration units recovered thousands of unknown sets of remains. The AGRC labeled the files pertaining to these unidentified remains with an“X” and a number, followed by the name of the U.S. Military Cemetery (USMC) where theremains were initially buried. These are commonly referred to as “X-Files.” For missing individuals, AGRC analysts compared dental and biological data included in their personnel files, as well as circumstantial information regarding the approximate time and location of each loss, with the unidentified remains. The AGRC positively identified many of these remains, usually through dental records. Others, often consisting of only partial bodies or skeletons, remained unknown despite AGRC attempts to make identifications.
The AGRC conducted extensive area searches and numerous individual investigations in Normandy as it attempted to recover and identify those who were unaccounted for. It also tried to associate unidentified remains, most of which were then buried in USMC in northern France,
7 “Review and Determination of Status Under the Missing Persons Act,” 7 June 1945, IDPF for PFC Pound.8 “Review and Determination of Status Under the Missing Persons Act,” 7 June 1945, IDPF for PFC Pound.9 “Finding of Death of Missing Person,” 7 June 1945, IDPF for PFC Pound.
SEARCH AND RECOVERY: Private First Class Pound’s name initially appeared on a casualty list along with the designation “Lightly Wounded in Action” (LWA) on 6 June 1944. His status was subsequently changed to Missing in Action (MIA), effective the same date. On 20 April 1945, the Army Casualty Branch contacted the European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (ETOUSA) to inquire about the change. According to a letter from Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, PFC Pound’s 6 June 1944 wounding was reported on a casualty slip, but his name never appeared on any medical or field hospital admission and disposition reports. Captain (Capt) William B. Johnson completed PFC Pound’s casualty slip, but he was killed in action the following month on 24 July 1944. Consequently, the 4th Infantry Division determined, “In viewof the fact that the whereabouts of [the] soldier could not be discovered, higher headquartersrequested this office submit a change of status report showing soldier MIA.”8 On 7 June 1945,one year and one day after PFC Pound’s reported loss, the War Department reviewed thecircumstances of his case, and having received no evidence that he had been captured by enemy forces or otherwise survived the war, Army officials issued a presumptive finding of death.9
Following the end of hostilities, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, was the unit tasked with investigating and recovering deceased and missing American personnel in the European Theater. During the course of postwar search and recovery operations across Europe, graves registration units recovered thousands of unknown sets of remains. The AGRC labeled the files pertaining to these unidentified remains with an“X” and a number, followed by the name of the U.S. Military Cemetery (USMC) where theremains were initially buried. These are commonly referred to as “X-Files.” For missing individuals, AGRC analysts compared dental and biological data included in their personnel files, as well as circumstantial information regarding the approximate time and location of each loss, with the unidentified remains. The AGRC positively identified many of these remains, usually through dental records. Others, often consisting of only partial bodies or skeletons, remained unknown despite AGRC attempts to make identifications.
The AGRC conducted extensive area searches and numerous individual investigations in Normandy as it attempted to recover and identify those who were unaccounted for. It also tried to associate unidentified remains, most of which were then buried in USMC in northern France,
7 “Review and Determination of Status Under the Missing Persons Act,” 7 June 1945, IDPF for PFC Pound.8 “Review and Determination of Status Under the Missing Persons Act,” 7 June 1945, IDPF for PFC Pound.9 “Finding of Death of Missing Person,” 7 June 1945, IDPF for PFC Pound.
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with men missing from the area. Analysts were unable to associate PFC Pound with any unknown remains recovered in Normandy.10
The Army reviewed PFC Pound’s case again in November 1949. It examined captured German records, but did not find any evidence that he had become a Prisoner of War. The U.S.Quartermaster General’s Memorial Division did not have any burial reports on file for PFC Pound, either.11 Consequently, on 8 December 1950, an AGRC Board of Review recommendedthat PFC Pound’s remains be declared non-recoverable.12 The Office of the Quartermaster General approved the recommendation on 10 September 1951.13
NEXT STEPS: At this time, the primary effort to locate and identify those service members who are still unaccounted for from Operation OVERLORD and subsequent combat in Normandy is through the disinterment of unknown sets of remains. Historians and the scientific staff at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) are examining the documentation for cases of unidentified remains recovered from this region and will compare these records to the historical, dental, and physical details of soldiers who went missing there to determine if any unknown remains are viable candidates for disinterment and forensic comparison with our missing. There are approximately 20 unknowns that were recovered in the vicinity of Utah Beach that have never been identified. Most of these remains are in poor condition—they are fragmentary, only partially complete, and most are missing skulls and teeth, thus making it difficult for DPAA staff to associate missing service personnel. Research into Operation OVERLORD is ongoing, and PFC Pound will be considered for comparison with any relevant unknowns proposed for future disinterment.
Historians at DPAA have placed PFC Pound’s case in an “Active Pursuit” status. Any new leadsor information pertaining to his case will be communicated through the Army Service Casualty Office.
October 2018
The Army reviewed PFC Pound’s case again in November 1949. It examined captured German records, but did not find any evidence that he had become a Prisoner of War. The U.S.Quartermaster General’s Memorial Division did not have any burial reports on file for PFC Pound, either.11 Consequently, on 8 December 1950, an AGRC Board of Review recommendedthat PFC Pound’s remains be declared non-recoverable.12 The Office of the Quartermaster General approved the recommendation on 10 September 1951.13
NEXT STEPS: At this time, the primary effort to locate and identify those service members who are still unaccounted for from Operation OVERLORD and subsequent combat in Normandy is through the disinterment of unknown sets of remains. Historians and the scientific staff at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) are examining the documentation for cases of unidentified remains recovered from this region and will compare these records to the historical, dental, and physical details of soldiers who went missing there to determine if any unknown remains are viable candidates for disinterment and forensic comparison with our missing. There are approximately 20 unknowns that were recovered in the vicinity of Utah Beach that have never been identified. Most of these remains are in poor condition—they are fragmentary, only partially complete, and most are missing skulls and teeth, thus making it difficult for DPAA staff to associate missing service personnel. Research into Operation OVERLORD is ongoing, and PFC Pound will be considered for comparison with any relevant unknowns proposed for future disinterment.
Historians at DPAA have placed PFC Pound’s case in an “Active Pursuit” status. Any new leadsor information pertaining to his case will be communicated through the Army Service Casualty Office.
October 2018
10 “Proceedings of a Board of Review...,” 8 December 1950, IDPF for PFC Pound.
11 A. L. O’Brien, “Review of Circumstances Surrounding the Disappearance of Enlisted Personnel of the 8th Infantry Regiment,” 14 November 1949, IDPF for PFC Pound.
12 “Proceedings of a Board of Review...,” 8 December 1950, IDPF for PFC Pound.13 “Non-Recoverable Case Record of Review and Approval,” 10 September 1951, IDPF for PFC Pound.
11 A. L. O’Brien, “Review of Circumstances Surrounding the Disappearance of Enlisted Personnel of the 8th Infantry Regiment,” 14 November 1949, IDPF for PFC Pound.
12 “Proceedings of a Board of Review...,” 8 December 1950, IDPF for PFC Pound.13 “Non-Recoverable Case Record of Review and Approval,” 10 September 1951, IDPF for PFC Pound.
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Figure 1. Map showing Normandy, France (red star), where Operation OVERLORD commenced on 6 June 1944. (Source: ArcGIS)
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Figure 2. Center of Military History map, “The Final OVERLORD Plan,” with Utah Beach marked by red oval. (Source: https://history.army.mil/brochures/normandy/nor-pam.htm)
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Figure 3. Close-up of the 4th Infantry Division’s D-Day landing zones on Utah Beach. Private First Class Pound was reportedly wounded by a mortar shell fragment on “Uncle Red” beach (red box). (Source: Utah Beach to Cherbourg, 6 – 27 June 1944 (1948; repr., Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1990), 49.))
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I guess the Dept. of Defense has "copyrighted" their info, and it won't post.
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