POWMIA.INFO

Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Smisek, L.)

WASHINGTON - The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Chief Machinist’s Mate Lada Smisek, 42, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 19, 2019.

In 1942, Smisek served at the Naval Ammunition Depot and Submarine Base in Cavite, Philippine Islands, when Japanese forces invaded. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were taken prisoner and sent to prisoner of war camps. Smisek was among those reported captured after the surrender of Corregidor and held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Smisek’s personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000LlrkEAC.