A World War II soldier from Webster County has been accounted for and returned to his hometown for burial.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Junior J. Shelton, 24, of Sebree, was killed in action on October 4, 1944, “after his company encountered German enemy forces near Hatterath, Germany,” according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Shelton was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division at the time of his death.
His body was recovered on April 25, 2025.
Shelton’s funeral was held Saturday at Tomblinson Funeral Home in Sebree.
The DPAA released the following information on the recovery of Shelton’s remains:
Shortly after the war ended in 1945, American graves registration personnel recovered several sets of remains from field graves and foxholes around Hatterath. None were identified as Shelton. Then, in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. In Aug. 1947, an AGRC investigation team went to Hatterath to search for the remains of five missing soldiers from the 115th Infantry Regiment. However, none of the remains recovered could be identified as Shelton.
In 2023, a DPAA historian studying unresolved losses at Hatterath reviewed documentation related to X-936 Margraten, an Unknown set of remains recovered from a field grave at Hatterath in June 1945 and buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. The historian determined the remains could be associated to Shelton and recommended exhumation for scientific testing. DPAA scientists reviewed the documentation and endorsed disinterment of X-936. In August 2024, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed X-936 Margraten and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Shelton’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial, Y chromosome, and autosomal DNA analysis.
Shelton’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission. DPAA would also like to thank Mr. Tino Dam, Mr. Peter Mulder, and Mr. Bart Van Der Sterren for their assistance in researching Shelton’s case.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
