Memorial

More information

Bill Morrison enlisted at Fort McPherson, Georgia on 23 November 1941.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Morrison’s remains. He was declared non-recoverable in December 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-4470 Neuville, originally discovered by a German civilian and recovered by the AGRC in 1946, possibly belonged to Morrison. The remains were found above ground in a wooded area some 1.5 miles north of the town center of Germeter, Germany. During the period of Morrison's death, this area was mined.

The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

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

Morrison’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery. A rosette is placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Morrison is given his final resting place at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort, Alabama.