Memorial

Biography

http://www.miaproject.net/mia-search-recoveries/cold-case/

More information

Pvt Harold E. Dechon graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1938. He was employed with the City Playground and Recreation Department.

He enlisted on 20 February 1941 in Los Angeles, California.

In 1992, two Belgian nationals located and excavated an abandoned fighting position in the forest east of Elsenborn. They recovered remains and other evidence and turned them over to US authorities in Europe. These remains, designated as X-9476, were transported to the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL), Hickam Field, Hawaii, for identification. The team published a detailed report in late 1992 that correlated Sgt Puckett and Pvt Brown with the X-9476 recovery site and also associated Pvt Dechon and Pfc William D. Cooper with the Elsenbuchel forest area.

In early 2005, scientist at CIL, using DNA analysis, were able to match some portions of X-9476 with Sgt Puckett and others with Pvt Brown.

In May 2005, attained positive matches between some of the hitherto unidentified portions of X-9476 and mtDNA from the family of Pvt Dechon.

His remains were buried at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.