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name
WALKO, John A - Date of
birth
8 November 1923 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Commodore, Indiana County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Commodore, Indiana County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33763575 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
C Company,
1st Battalion,
26th Infantry Regiment,
1st Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
20 October 1944 - Place of
death
Aachen, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten -
Walls of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles W. Walko (father)
Mary Walko (mother)
Anna Walko (sister)
Samuel C. Walko (brother)
George Walko (brother)
Elizabeth L. Walko (sister)
Marcella C. Walko (sister)
More information
John Walko enlisted in Altoona, Pennsylvania on 28 July 1943.The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that Pfc John A. Walko has been accounted for.
He was killed in action on 20 October 1944, when his unit came under heavy German fire during fighting in Aachen, Germany. In November 1944, the American Graves Registration Command processed a set of remains recovered from the area where Walko was lost. Due to their condition, the remains could not be identified and were interred at the United States Military Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle.
In July 2023, the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed these remains and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for renewed analysis. There, scientists identified Walko using modern forensic techniques.
Funeral arrangements are pending (information added January 2026).
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Veteran Compensation Application File, Indiana Evening Gazette 29 November 1944, www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar
Photo source: Indiana Evening Gazette - 29 November 1944, Peter Schouteten