The mystery surrounding the fate of U.S. Army soldier Joseph Gala, who went missing more than 80 years ago during World War II, has been solved. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on November 4th that Gala's remains were identified on September 10, 2025. He was declared killed in action on July 14, 1944, two months after his disappearance during a mission in Burma, now Myanmar.
Gala was a member of the Merrill Marauders, an elite volunteer infantry unit formed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for a clandestine mission in the China-Burma-India theater, often called the "forgotten theater." The unit, known for its jungle fighting capabilities, suffered heavy casualties; out of approximately 3,000 volunteers, only about 200 returned home.
The DPAA reported that Gala was last seen near the village of Mankrin. His battalion advanced south from Mankrin on June 16, 1944, engaging heavily fortified Japanese positions north of Myitkyina. The exact circumstances of Gala's death at age 21 were never officially recorded.
After the war, remains of servicemen killed in the Myitkyina battles were transferred to India in 1946 and then to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii in 1947 for further analysis. Unidentified remains were subsequently buried as World War II Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
To identify Gala's remains, DPAA scientists utilized dental and anthropological analysis, along with circumstantial evidence and DNA analysis. Following the identification, Gala was laid to rest with full military honors at Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn, Massachusetts, on November 5.
"We're very honored that he is able to finally come home," Scott DeGregory, a family member of Gala, told WCVB. A burial attendee, Bob Smith, shared, "Welcome home, Private Gala. Your sacrifice, your courage, and your service will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, hero."