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WWII POW from Buffalo identified and accounted for

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Thomas J.E. Crotty, 30, who was killed during World War II, was officially accounted for Sept. 10, 2019.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Coast Guardsman from Buffalo who was taken as a Prisoner of War in World War II has now been accounted for. 

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Friday U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Thomas J.E. Crotty, 30, who was killed during World War II, was officially accounted for Sept. 10, 2019.

Crotty served aboard the USS Quail in 1942 in the Philippines.  He was part of the 16th Naval District-in-Shore Patrol Headquarters.

Officials say thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were taken prisoner. Crotty was among those who were captured and help at the Cabanatuan POW camp.

Crotty reportedly died July 19, 1942 and buried with fellow prisoners in a cemetery at the camp. 

The American Graves Registration Service exhumed the bodies after the war ended, but due to the circumstances of their deaths, commingling and limited technology, all of the remains could not be identified.  Their remains were interred as “unknowns” at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

In 2018, the remains were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis, including one set, designated X-2858 Manila #2. 

Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis to identify Crotty's remains. 

Crotty's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila cemetery.  A rosette will be placed next to his name to show that he has been accounted for. 

Crotty will be buried Nov. 3, 2019, in Buffalo, New York.

Credit: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Thomas Crotty (Middle)

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