Missing WWII soldier may be found with help of college’s DNA lab

MADISON, Wis. The University of Wisconsin's DNA lab may help bring the final member of a World War II unit home.

Pfc. Lawrence Gordon, 28, from Canada, was a member of the U.S. Army's 32nd Armored Regiment when the armored car he was riding in exploded during fighting in Normandy, France on Aug. 13, 1944. The explosion also killed Pvt. James Bowman.

Staff Sgt. David Henry of Viroqua was wounded during the Normandy campaign but he made it home.

"The Army buddies meant a great deal. I think some of his best friends in the service were his best friends after the war," said Henry's grandson, Jed Henry, told WISC-TV. "They were closer than family and so Pfc. Gordon being missing to me was almost like a family member being missing."

Bowman was identified from fingerprints. Gordon was never identified and was classified as one of the more than 78,000 American servicemen and women missing in action.

After his grandfather died, Jed Henry started searching for Gordon's records. He learned that Gordon was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and was working in Wyoming when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Henry confirmed that Gordon had been killed in the explosion through a survivor's statements. He found where Bowman had been buried, but there was no record of what had become of Gordon.

"To find someone who has been missing for 70 years isn't easy," Henry said.

The military listed unidentified remains with an X designation. Henry started pouring through those X files. By using the death date and the location he narrowed the search.

He also knew Bowman had been buried in a cemetery in Gorron, France. Henry assumed their bodies would have been taken to the same cemetery because they died together.

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Missing WWII soldier may be found with help of college's DNA lab