Memorial

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On 2 July 1951, an investigation was conducted in the vicinity of Germeter, in an effort to recover the remains of four U.S soldiers, S/Sgt Raymond G. Blanton, Pfc Clarence W. Brotherton, Pvt Walter H. Reuter Jr. and Pfc Leslie E. Shankles, reported missing in action in the area on 14 October 1944. They were officialy declared death one day and one year after they were reported missing in action.

Information indicated that these man were members of C Company, 60th Infantry Regiment, which had the mission of destroying two enemy pill boxes in the Raffelsbrand Forest. during this engagement heavy enemy artillery, mortar and small arms fire was encountered and after the mission was accomplished, these men were missing. A search of the area could not be made at that time, due to continued enemy activity and it could not be determined wheter these men were killed in action or were taken prisoner.

A visit was made to the head of the German demining team who worked in the area. This man stated that his team had swept part of the section and that another team had swept the other part.

After talking to several team members, the investigation team learned that eight casualties were recovered during these demining operations. Two of these remains bore German identification tags. The other six were unknowns and were presumably buried in a German military cemetery as unknown German soldiers.

Also a sweep of the area in question was made. This was exceedingly difficult as the entire region was overgrown with bush, meeds and wild blackberry and thorn bushes to a height of three to five feet. The search did not have any result. Also the demolished bunkers in the area were searched with negative results.

Thanks to new investigation methods, it turned out that the remains of an American soldier, found in 1947 by a local German resident in the Raffelsbrand section of the Hürtgen Forest and which could not be identified, and were buried as Unknown X-5391 at Ardennes Cemetery, were actually the remains of Pfc Shankles.

DPAA disinterred X-5391 in June 2017 and accessioned the remains to the DPAA laboratory.

To identify Shankles’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome (Y-STR) DNA analysis, anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

On 12 July 2018, DPAA anounced that his remains were identified.

Pfc Shankles has been given his final resting place at Fort Scott National Cemetery, Kansas on 24 October 2018.