Army Pvt. Robert Skaar, killed in World War II, accounted for

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced recently that U.S. Army Pvt. Robert L. Skaar, 18, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 7, 2024.

In early 1945, Skaar was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division. On March 10, Skaar was killed in action while his unit was on patrol near Wildenguth, France. The Germans never reported Skaar as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not immediately recovered.

Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area around Wildenguth. None of the investigations uncovered any leads regarding the disposition of Skaar’s remains. Consequently, he was declared non-recoverable on March 12, 1951.

DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research into Soldiers missing from combat around Wildenguth. and found that X-5726 Neuville (X-5726), buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neupré, Belgium, could be associated with Skaar. X-5726 was disinterred in August 2022 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.

To identify Skaar’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), mitochondrial genome DNA (mtG), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Skaar’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Skaar will be buried on October 1, 2024, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.