Remains of World War II solider from Kingwood recovered

KINGWOOD, W.Va (WDTV) – The remains of a World War II solider from Kingwood have been recovered and will be buried later this fall.

U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant Jay R. Manown, Jr., 26, who was killed during World War II, was accounted for on May 23rd of this year, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

Manown was an aviator assigned to Navy Torpedo Squadron 20 (VT-20), USS Enterprise during the fall of 1944. On September 10th of that year, Manown and two other crew members took off from the USS Enterprise on a mission to conduct air strikes against enemy targets in the Malakal Naval District in the Palau Islands.

Witnesses from other aircraft in the formation saw Manown’s plane get struck by enemy fire and crash into the water near Malakal, and there were no indications that any of the crewmembers exited the aircraft prior to the crash, officials said.

All efforts to recover their remains at that time were unsuccessful.

In the summer of 1947, exhaustive searches of battle areas and crash sites in Palau were conducted, but investigators could not find any evidence of Manown or his aircraft. He was declared non-recoverable on July 16th of 1949.

From 2003 to 2018, multiple investigations were conducted in the area, which resulted in the location of a site associated with the incident. In May 2019, in September 2021 and, finally, in July 2023, osseous remains and other material evidence were recovered and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Manown and the crews’ remains, scientists used anthropological, circumstantial and mitochondrial DNA analysis.

The family of Manown recently received their full briefing on his identification, which is why the DPAA is releasing this information now, officials said.

Manown’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for, officials said.

Manown will be buried on October 29th in Kingwood. For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA’s website at www.dpaa.mil.

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