‘No greater reward’: Offutt Air Force Base helps identify D-Day soldiers

A lab at Offutt Air Force Base helped identify soldiers who died when their boat hit a mine on D-Day.

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Weeks before Memorial Day, families of fallen soldiers are finally getting answers. Among them is New Jersey resident Thomas Ploch. He never knew his great-uncle, but his mother did.”She was, in fact, notified of his death on the day that she graduated grammar school, so that really stuck in her mind as a milestone,” Ploch said.Private Ori Krieger was killed at Omaha Beach on D-Day. He and his 24 companions were in a landing craft when they struck a mine off the coast. They were all buried in Normandy, but that will not be their final resting place.READ MORE: D-Day service members set for burial at Omaha National Cemetery”It is emotional,” Ploch said. “I think it’s wonderful that the Army is finalizing this for the family.”It’s a call he’s been waiting for ever since he sent DNA samples to the Army in 2017. In 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency brought those soldiers to a lab at Offutt Air Force Base for identification.”They were buried at Normandy American Cemetery under four graves for unknowns under headstones, crosses that read ‘Comrades in arms, known but to God,'” Franklin Damann, DPAA Nebraska laboratory director, said.In 1944, only one soldier was named. Over the last five years, Carrie Brown, supervisory forensic anthropologist, and her team have identified six more. She said the process was challenging and meticulous. From the 25 soldiers, only 188 bones were recovered. A single human skeleton contains 206 bones.”We had remains that were burned. We had remains that were potentially chemically treated back in the 40s, and so it took a while to actually get DNA,” Brown said. “It’s compromised by time, it’s compromised by circumstances.”We still don’t know the names of the other 18 soldiers, but 50 family members came to Omaha from across the country for their heroes.”As human nature, they’re looking to connect the dots,” Damann said. “Sometimes in cases like this, those dots just cannot be connected.””There’s no greater job and no greater reward I can do with the degree that I have than contribute to this mission and ensure that no one’s left behind,” Brown said.Every soldier will be buried in the Omaha National Cemetery on May 7. Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. —

Weeks before Memorial Day, families of fallen soldiers are finally getting answers. Among them is New Jersey resident Thomas Ploch. He never knew his great-uncle, but his mother did.

“She was, in fact, notified of his death on the day that she graduated grammar school, so that really stuck in her mind as a milestone,” Ploch said.

Private Ori Krieger was killed at Omaha Beach on D-Day. He and his 24 companions were in a landing craft when they struck a mine off the coast. They were all buried in Normandy, but that will not be their final resting place.

“It is emotional,” Ploch said. “I think it’s wonderful that the Army is finalizing this for the family.”

It’s a call he’s been waiting for ever since he sent DNA samples to the Army in 2017. In 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency brought those soldiers to a lab at Offutt Air Force Base for identification.

“They were buried at Normandy American Cemetery under four graves for unknowns under headstones, crosses that read ‘Comrades in arms, known but to God,'” Franklin Damann, DPAA Nebraska laboratory director, said.

In 1944, only one soldier was named. Over the last five years, Carrie Brown, supervisory forensic anthropologist, and her team have identified six more. She said the process was challenging and meticulous. From the 25 soldiers, only 188 bones were recovered. A single human skeleton contains 206 bones.

“We had remains that were burned. We had remains that were potentially chemically treated back in the 40s, and so it took a while to actually get DNA,” Brown said. “It’s compromised by time, it’s compromised by circumstances.”

We still don’t know the names of the other 18 soldiers, but 50 family members came to Omaha from across the country for their heroes.

“As human nature, they’re looking to connect the dots,” Damann said. “Sometimes in cases like this, those dots just cannot be connected.”

“There’s no greater job and no greater reward I can do with the degree that I have than contribute to this mission and ensure that no one’s left behind,” Brown said.

Every soldier will be buried in the Omaha National Cemetery on May 7.

Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.