Lost in 1942, WWII Soldier Will Be Laid to Rest in Texas

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. William I. Berrier, 22, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, will be interred at Maypearl Cemetery in Maypearl, Texas. Services and interment are being coordinated by Waxahachie Funeral Home.

In late 1941, Berrier was a member of 21st Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.Berrier was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Berrier died Oct. 24, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 710.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Berrier on April 16, 2025.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Berrier, please visit: [https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4170608/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-berrier-w/](https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4170608/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-berrier-w/)

U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact Waxahachie Funeral Home, 972-923-1595.

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