Remains of Soldier killed in WWII return to Ohio and interred with full military honors

FORT KNOX, Ky. ( WTRF ) — The remains of U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade (Tech 5) Harold D. Pittis, a Soldier killed during World War II, was interred on Saturday at Greenmont Union Cemetery, Freeport, Ohio.

Koch Funeral Home performed graveside services preceding the interment.

A native of Freeport, Pittis was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division.

He was killed in action on Feb. 8. 1945, at age 21, while his regiment engaged in fierce fighting near the town of Biesdorf, Germany.

Pittis was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Mar. 20, 2024, after his remains were exhumed in September 2022 from the U.S. Military Cemetery in Tunisia, known today as the North Africa American Cemetery, for laboratory analysis and identification.

The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in the process of locating Family members of missing Soldiers from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The process begins with locating the Family member most closely related to the missing Soldier, known as the primary next of kin, followed by a request for Family reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.

Once the Armed Forces Medical Examiner has identified a soldier, the PCRB notifies and briefs the Family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process including burial with full military honors.

For additional information about Tech 5 Pittis, click here .

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