US military dog tags and bones found on Solomon Islands

Dog tags and human remains found on the Solomon Islands could belong to a former US soldier who went missing during the Second World War.

The macabre discovery was made by a local man who found a skeleton and military tags bearing the name ‘Pfc Dale W Ross’ near a jungle trail on the island of Guadalcanal.

He shared his find with travelling New Yorker Donna Esposito, who tracked down Ross’ family when she returned to upstate Glenville.

The dog tags and human remains found on the Solomon Islands could belong to a former US soldier who went missing during the Second World War

Though his remains have not been independently verified, his potential nephew is confident the mystery of the missing soldier has been solved. 

‘It’s Uncle Dale. I have no doubt,’ says Dale W Ross, who was named after his long lost relative. 

Esposito found that Ross had nieces and nephews still living in Ashland, Oregon, two of whom accompanied Esposito her back to Guadalcanal where they were given his dog tags and a bag containing the skeletal remains.

The macabre discovery was made by a local man who found a skeleton and military tags bearing the name 'Pfc Dale W Ross' near a jungle trail on the island of Guadalcanal

The macabre discovery was made by a local man who found a skeleton and military tags bearing the name ‘Pfc Dale W Ross’ near a jungle trail on the island of Guadalcanal

The elder Ross, a North Dakota native whose family moved to southern Oregon, was the third of four brothers who fought in WWII. 

Assigned to the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, he was listed as MIA in January 1943, during the final weeks of the Guadalcanal campaign. He was last seen in an area that saw heavy fighting around a Japanese-held hilltop.

When the Japanese evacuated Guadalcanal three weeks later, it was the first major land victory in the Allies’ island-hopping campaign in the Pacific.

Ross’ relatives handed the remains — about four dozen bones, including rib bones — to a team from the Pentagon agency that identifies American MIAs found on foreign battlefields. 

On Aug. 7, the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Guadalcanal, an American honor guard carried a flag-draped coffin containing the bones onto a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft.

The Pentagon said the remains were taken to Hawaii for DNA testing.

‘Until a complete and thorough analysis of the remains is done by our lab, we are unable to comment on the specific case associated to the turnover,’ said Maj. Jessie Romero of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The other three Ross brothers made it back home, including the oldest, Charles, who served aboard a Navy PT boat in the Solomons and visited Guadalcanal in the vain attempt to learn about his brother Dale’s fate.

Though his remains have not been independently verified, his potential nephew (pictured) is confident the mystery of the missing soldier has been solved

Though his remains have not been independently verified, his potential nephew (pictured) is confident the mystery of the missing soldier has been solved

Ross’ niece and nephew made their trip last month with Esposito and Justin Taylan, founder of Pacific Wrecks, a New York-based nonprofit involved in the search for American MIAs from WWII. 

They met the family whose 8-year-old son found the dog tags and remains. They also were taken to the spot on a slope in the jungle where the discovery was made.

‘I never met this man, but I was a little emotional,’ Ross, 71, said of the experience.

For Esposito, 45, finding evidence that could solve a lingering mystery in an American family’s military history is the most meaningful thing she’s ever done in her life.

‘I can’t believe this has all happened,’ she said. ‘It has been an amazing journey.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk