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WWII soldier from Madison is laid to rest, 77 years after giving his life on Saipan

"Ma, he didn't march home, but he's home. And we're so grateful for that."

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Army Sgt. John E. Hurlburt of Madison was laid to rest Saturday, more than 75 years after he gave his life for his country on a far-off Pacific island.  

Hurlburt was a member of the 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on July 7, 1944, during a massive Japanese attack against the 105th on the island of Saipan. His remains were not known to have been recovered. He was just 26 years old.

In March 1948, remains labeled as Unknown X-20, that were disinterred from a grave in the 27th Infantry Division Cemetery, included Hurlburt’s identification tags. Despite that, the American Graves Registration Service concluded that X-20 was not Hurlburt. The remains were then buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines on June 15, 1950.

After thorough research, historians with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency concluded X-20 was possibly associated with one of eight service members, including Hurlburt. Unknown X-20 was disinterred on Dec. 6, 2018 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Hurlburt was accounted for by the DPAA on Aug. 19, 2020, after his remains were identified using circumstantial evidence, as well as dental, anthropological, and mitochondrial DNA analysis.

His name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

On Saturday, a funeral service was held in East Haven before Sgt. Hurlburt was laid to rest at Beaverdale Memorial Park Cemetery in New Haven. 

Kathleen Esposito of Guilford is Sgt. Hurlburt’s niece. She never knew him, but her mother, Hurlburt's sister, talked of him often. After the services, she said "God bless America for bringing our soldiers home. My family so happy that he's back. My parents are buried just across the way."

Esposito continued, "I said 'Ma, he didn't march home, but he's home.' And we're so grateful for that."

For additional information about Sgt. Hurlburt, click here.

To learn more about the Department of Defense’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

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