WWI soldier identified after 2 decades of anonymity, thanks to forensics

Forensic scientists just achieved what was deemed to be impossible by identifying an unknown soldier who fell in WWI.

Found 85 years after the World War 1 battle by French archeologists, the remains of the soldier were sent to the US military’s central identification laboratory, according to The Conversation.

For two decades, however, no one could find out who the solider was until a forensic scientist, Jay Silverstein, reopened the case in honor of the 100-year anniversary of World War I.

After a thorough investigation which included DNA testing, Silverstein succeeded in identifying the lost soldier, so he could finally be laid to rest: Pfc Charles McAllister.

The mystery of the ‘unknown’ US soldier

Silverstein, along with volunteers, took on the case of the anonymous soldier who had died in battle. They took the case into their own hands as even after multiple decades the body of the fallen soldier had still not been properly buried.

Approaching the task globally first before zooming in, they studied the battlefield first.

As the body was found with another that had been easily identified with his name on his uniform, they could pinpoint the location and time of his death: July 21, 1918.

Cross referencing military maps clarified which regiments were around the location of the bodies, so the team could continue narrowing down the list of possibilities, as per The Conversation .

The soldier’s uniform provided additional clues, though not a name, most notably two buttons that correlated to his Washington State National Guard membership and a medal for his service in Mexico in 1916.

The forensic team then searched these databases to arrive at a list of four candidates. After obtaining military records, they examined the physical body which included measuring his height and examining his teeth.

One profile matched, Pfc Charles McAllister, as he also had a unique dental structure that had been duly noted.

With the pieces coming together, Silverstein turned to genealogy, as per The Conversation, to confirm his identity by finding DNA links in his remaining relatives.

After collecting a mitochondrial DNA sample from a great-niece and a nuclear Y-chromosome DNA sample from a male relative, the forensic team found that the maternal and paternal genes matched the unidentified soldier’s DNA.

A decorated soldier finally laid to rest in Seattle

Thus, without a shadow of a doubt, after reopening a battle of the past, studying the physical clues left on his uniform, and verifying his DNA, they could confirm that the body belongs to none other than Pfc Charles McAllister, a decorated soldier who lost his life during a successful counterattack. What began in the wee hours of July 18, 1918 ended 100 years later.

A century ago, Franco-American forces had pushed back the advancing German front but not without causalities. More than 1,000 US soldiers, The Conversation reported , died in action and their bodies went missing.

By accident, two bodies were unearthed, however, Pfc Charles McAllister still remained unnamed for almost a century. In light of the anniversary, in the spirit of never forgetting the individuals who served in battle, finally, he was finally able to go home 100 years later.

He will be buried in his hometown of Seattle on August 21, as per a report by Phys.org .