The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has confirmed the identification of U.S. Army Pvt. Harland J. Hennessey, a 24-year-old from Boonville, New York, who died as a prisoner of war during World War II. His remains were officially accounted for on September 23rd, 2024.
Hennessey’s family recently received a comprehensive briefing regarding his identification, allowing additional information about the case to be publicly shared.
In 1942, Hennessey was serving with the 803rd Engineer Battalion, Aviation, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. After months of heavy combat, American troops surrendered Bataan on April 9th, 1942, followed by Corregidor Island on May 6th. As a result, thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were captured.
Hennessey was among those taken prisoner after the fall of Bataan. He endured the infamous 65-mile Bataan Death March and was held at the Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp #1. More than 2,500 POWs died in that camp during the conflict.
Records from the prison indicate that Hennessey died on November 1st, 1942. He was interred alongside other fallen prisoners in Common Grave 704 within the camp’s cemetery.
After the war, remains from Cabanatuan were moved to a temporary military mausoleum in Manila. In 1947, efforts were made to identify the remains, and while two individuals from Common Grave 704 were successfully identified, eight others, including Hennessey, remained unknown and were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM).
As part of its ongoing Cabanatuan Project, the DPAA exhumed these unidentified remains in 2018 and transported them to its laboratory for further analysis. Scientists were able to identify Hennessey using a combination of dental and anthropological assessments, circumstantial evidence, and mitochondrial DNA analysis conducted by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.
For decades, Hennessey’s resting place at MACM was maintained with care by the American Battle Monuments Commission. His name also appears on the Walls of the Missing at the memorial. A rosette will be added next to his name to signify that he has been identified.
Pvt. Hennessey is scheduled to be laid to rest in Boonville, New York, in July 2025.
For details regarding funeral arrangements, families can contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
World War II Soldier from New York Identified after More than 80 Years