LaVerne D. VanDyke

World War II
Service #36181125
UnitHeadquarters Squadron, 5th Air Base Group
RankCorporal U.S. Army Air Forces
Entered Service From Michigan
Date of DeathJanuary 18 1943
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Walls of the Missing
Purple Heart
Purple Heart
Notes

Cpl. VanDyke was killed in a plane crash during combat operations over New Guinea in 1943 and was initially listed as Missing in Action with an Administrative Date of Death of December 20, 1945. Following the war, his remains were recovered and interred with the rest of the crew in a group burial in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Ky. His name is permanently listed on the Walls of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery.

rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.