POWMIA.INFO

​Soldier Killed During World War II Accounted For (Cummings, J.)

By DPAA Public Affairs

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2018 - Army Pvt. John B. Cummings, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 12.

In December 1944, Cummings was a member of Company A, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, along the France and Germany border to reinforce the Alsace area. On Dec. 31, 1944, German troops crossed the Rhine River into France. As darkness fell, two member of Cummings’ company passed him as he sat in a foxhole near the riverbank. Sometime later, U.S. troops heard German machine gun fire and maneuvered their way back to Cummings’ foxhole. The troops were unable to find Cummings, but they did find a helmet with a bullet hole. Despite extensive recovery efforts, Cummings’ remains were unable to be located.

DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this recovery.

Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.

Cummings’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Epinal American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Dinoze, France, along with the others missing from WWII. Although interred as an Unknown in Normandy American Cemetery, Cummings’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the ABMC. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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