Marine Corps Reserve Pfc Nicholas J Gojmerac
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Nicholas J. Gojmerac, 29, of Kansas City, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 24, 2018.
In July 1943, Gojmerac was a member of Company Q, 4th Raider Battalion, 1st Marine Raider Regiment, when his unit assaulted a Japanese stronghold at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia Island, Solomon Islands. He was reported missing in action on July 20, 1943, after he was last seen crawling through heavy fire to provide medical care to an injured Marine while he was mortally wounded himself.
A set of remains, later designated X-6, was recovered from an isolated burial site in Enogai Inlet, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. When the remains could not be identified, they were ultimately interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu as X-6 Finschhafen.
Based on thorough historical research and analysis, Gojmerac became a likely candidate to match X-6 Finschhafen in the Punchbowl. On Aug. 20, 2018, DPAA disinterred the remains and accessioned them to the laboratory for analysis.
To identify Gojmerac’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial, historical and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,766 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Gojmerac’s name is recorded on the Walls of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
In July 1943, Gojmerac was a member of Company Q, 4th Raider Battalion, 1st Marine Raider Regiment, when his unit assaulted a Japanese stronghold at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia Island, Solomon Islands. He was reported missing in action on July 20, 1943, after he was last seen crawling through heavy fire to provide medical care to an injured Marine while he was mortally wounded himself.
A set of remains, later designated X-6, was recovered from an isolated burial site in Enogai Inlet, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. When the remains could not be identified, they were ultimately interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu as X-6 Finschhafen.
Based on thorough historical research and analysis, Gojmerac became a likely candidate to match X-6 Finschhafen in the Punchbowl. On Aug. 20, 2018, DPAA disinterred the remains and accessioned them to the laboratory for analysis.
To identify Gojmerac’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial, historical and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,766 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Gojmerac’s name is recorded on the Walls of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.