The remains of Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Capt. Willibald Bianchi have been identified, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday.

Bianchi was killed on Jan. 9, 1945, after U.S. naval aircraft, unaware that there were prisoners on board, scored a direct hit on the Japanese transport ship (dubbed “hell ships” by American POWs) , Enoura Maru, in Takao Harbor. An estimated 431 “unknowns” were killed in the sinking, according to Hegseth.

“During one of the most harrowing chapters of World War II, Willibald Bianchi demonstrated remarkable bravery, valor, and selflessness,” National Medal of Honor Museum President and CEO Chris Cassidy said in a press release. “Eighty years after he was killed, we are grateful for the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to account f

See Full Page