'No man left behind' as local soldier is ready to touch U.S. soil after almost 80 years post WWII

Advanced science and a commitment to the American notion of "No soldier being left behind" is the reason why the Defense of POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that a soldier from WWII was accounted for on May 11, 2023. U.S. Army Sergeant John. W. Radanovich of Mt. Olive, Ill., was 23 years old at the time he reportedly went missing during WWII. Radanovich will be buried in Mt. Olive on Saturday, Aug. 12. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. on Aug. 12 and a funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. at Becker and Son Funeral Home in Mt. Olive. Burial will follow at the family plot in Union Miners Cemetery in Mt. Olive.

Johnny moved to Michigan after graduation from Mt. Olive High School in 1939. While in Michigan, Johnny entered the U.S. Army on Nov. 12, 1942, and served in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. In June of 1944, he was shipped overseas. By the fall of that year, the Germans were in full retreat, and the Allies had pushed all the way from Normandy to Germany. Johnny's story continues in the Hürtgen Forest near Aachen, Germany.

Between Sept. 1944 and Feb. 1945, a series of clashes took place over 50 square miles along the German–Belgian border. This battle was one of the longest battles ever fought by U.S. soldiers and lasted from Sept. 19, 1944 to Feb. 10, 1945. The fighting was fierce with many casualties. Johnny's regiment was in the thick of it. The weather was horrible, and tanks were limited in action. The artillery from the Germans was unrelenting and inflicted huge numbers of casualties on our boys. The Germans had an artillery piece called the "88." It was an anti-tank weapon. Our soldiers said that, when fired, it sounded like a locomotive coming in sideways. Often, these attacks lasted hours before ending. The Allied forces suffered catastrophic loss of life from this weapon.

On Dec. 1, 1944, the attack began at 9 a.m. It proved to be a fateful day for Johnny. He and his comrades found themselves under attack and engaged in a brutal battle which was not secured until 5:30 p.m. Sgt. Johnny Radanovich was among the 2nd Battalion's dozens of casualties. He was unaccounted for and listed as missing in action. Johnny was last seen during a fierce counterattack by the Germans. While the American troops held them back, his regiment could not conduct a thorough search due to the continuing battle.

Once the area was cleared, the army searched but could not find his remains. German forces did not report him as a prisoner, nor did American forces find any information regarding his disappearance. On Dec. 2, 1945, one year and one day after Johnny was last seen, the War Department issued a presumptive finding of death.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command began investigating and reporting on missing American personnel in Europe. Starting in 1946, and lasting until recently, the search to identify Johnny amongst the many remains found after the war yielded no positive leads.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen Forest, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2754A Neuville, which was recovered near Grosshau in 1946, could possibly belong to Johnny Radanovich. The remains had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium. The remains were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. Significant testing on the remains coupled with DNA samples from his sister, Louise, and his niece, Marie Helen, rendered a positive identification. After 79 years, Johnny Radanovich could be brought home to his family. His name is now recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery in Margareten, Netherlands. To indicate that he has been accounted for, a rosette will be placed next to his name.

After 79 years of waiting and wondering, Johnny's family and community are proud to honor him in a way befitting a true American hero.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command, or what's now called Mortuary Affairs, was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They are responsible for the identification and burying of all Army, Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard personnel who lost their lives as the result of service outside the continental limits of the U.S. Teams are divided into three groups:

One group follows up all reports and rumors regarding buried soldiers; the second group disinters the body after a grave has been discovered; and the third group aspires to make an identification. In attempting to locate grave sites, the search team tirelessly and extensively commit when entering a territory by seeking out all available records of burials, interviews of Clergymen who may have officiated at burials, along with any one else that may have took part in the actual burial.

The DPAA states that, "a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains recovered near Grosshau in 1946 possibly belonged to Radanovich. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, were disinterred in June of 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for anaylsis".

The incredible detail the scientists from the DPAA used when performing anthropological analysis, mitochondrial DNA analysis, and autosomal DNA analysis is nothing short of a miracle. However, it is the reason why he will be honored on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands. The DPAA states that a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

The DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their parternship in this mission.

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