Remains of Ohio native who died during World War II identified after 82 years

Columbus, Ohio (WSYX) — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Friday that U.S. Army Sgt. Howard L. Hasselkus, a 24-year-old from Elmore, Ohio, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for on September 23, 2024.

Hasselkus was a member of the 192nd Tank Battalion when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. He was captured following the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and was among those subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March. He was held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp #1, where more than 2,500 POWs perished during the war.

According to historical records, Hasselkus died on November 22, 1942, and was buried in Common Grave 807 at the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. After the war, the American Graves