POW/MIA Recognition Day is today; After 80-ish years, one family from central South Dakota now knows the whereabouts of their lost soldier

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024:

Today (Sept. 20, 2024) is POW/MIA Recognition Day, which is a day to remember and honor the returned U.S. Prisoners of War and all Americans still captured, unaccounted for or Missing in Action.

South Dakota Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Greg Whitlock says hundreds of the state's soldiers are still missing, including seven from the Vietnam War, 34 unaccounted for from the Korean War and 310 still missing from World War II. He says we must ensure that the search for those people doesn't end until they are back home.

For the first time in 80-some years, a family from the Blunt, SD, area won't have to wonder about one of their own. Just last month (Aug. 10, 2024), the remains of 22 year old, WWII U.S. Army Corporal Robert A. Bartlett of Blunt were returned and buried next to his parents– Amos and Alice (Keyes) Bartlett– at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Blunt.

The United States Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is credited with doing much of the work that led to the identification of Corporal Bartlett's remains. They were accounted for in May (May 20, 2024) of this year. According to a news release from the DPAA, one of their historians studying unresolved American losses in the northern part of France (Saint-Germain-d'Elle area), determined that the (M5A1) Stuart tank recovered from the area belonged to Company A, where Bartlett was assigned. This correlation led DPAA and American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) personnel to exhume the remains of two previously unidentified soldiers (X-141 and X-142) in April 2018. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory where scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence and DNA analysis to identify Bartlett.

AUGUST 13, 2024:

A soldier from South Dakota killed in northern France during WWII is now buried next to his parents in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery near his hometown of Blunt.

DRG Media Group News and Farm Director Jody Heemstra attended the service and shares the following:

The remains of 22 year old U.S. Army Corporal Robert A. Bartlett were accounted for in May (May 20, 2024) of this year. He was buried next to Amos and Alice (Keyes) Bartlett, on Aug. 10, 2024.

In the audio that follows, you'll hear from Nick Johnson, a Casualty Operations Officer with the South Dakota National Guard; from Corporal Bartlett's niece Kay Odle; from Pastor Kippy Udehn; and from Jack Bartlett, Bob's only living sibling. The music is soloist Jeff Speaect, accompanied by Ron Smith.

AUGUST 8, 2024:

Flags are to be flown at half-staff across South Dakota from sunrise until sunset on Saturday (Aug. 10, 2024), in honor of U.S. Army Corporal Robert A. Bartlett. Corporal Bartlett served during World War II, and after engaging in battle with German forces in northern France (at Saint-Germain-d'Elle), he was declared missing in action. His remains were accounted for in May of this year and were recently returned to the state for burial.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm CT on Saturday at the Blunt Methodist Church in Blunt. Following the service, Corporal Bartlett will be laid to rest at Pleasant Hill Cemetery with full military honors.

Thanks to work started by the United States Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), a soldier from South Dakota killed in France during WWII has been identified and is back in the state where he will be buried.

The remains of 22 year old U.S. Army Corporal Robert A. Bartlett were accounted for in May (May 20, 2024) and arrived in Pierre Wednesday (July 31, 2024).

Janet Bartlett from Blunt never met her Uncle Bob, but says the family appreciates all of the people involved in bringing him home.

Jessica West is a funeral director for Isburg Funeral Chapels and has been working with the military and the family on Corporal Bartlett's final arrangements.

Bartlett says her uncle's funeral will be held next weekend (Aug. 10, 2024, at 1pm CT) in Blunt (Methodist Church).

he Pierre-Fort Pierre Exchange Club posted flags across the Missouri River bridge between Pierre and Fort Pierre Wednesday (July 31, 2024) as a way to help welcome Corporal Bartlett home. Until his funeral, Corporal Bartlett will be lying in state at the Isburg Funeral Chapel in Pierre. People are welcome to stop by to pay their respects.

Learn more about Bartlett's time in the military here .

Read Bartlett's obituary here .

JULY 31, 2024:

Thanks to work started by the United States Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), a soldier from South Dakota killed during WWII has been identified and is coming home to be put to rest.

Jessica West is a funeral director for Isburg Funeral Chapels. She says the remains of 22 year old U.S. Army Corporal Robert A. Bartlett were accounted for in May (May 20, 2024) and should arrive at their facility in Pierre today/Wednesday (July 31, 2024).

According to a news release from the DPAA, one of their historians studying unresolved American losses in the northern part of France (Saint-Germain-d'Elle area), determined that the (M5A1) Stuart tank recovered from the area belonged to Company A, where Bartlett was assigned. This correlation led DPAA and American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) personnel to exhume the remains of two previously unidentified soldiers (X-141 and X-142) in April 2018. The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory where scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence and DNA analysis to identify Bartlett.

West says Bartlett's remains are being escorted from Omaha, Nebraska, to Pierre.

West says Bartlett's funeral will be held next month (Aug. 10, 2024, at 1pm CT) in Blunt (Methodist Church).

Incidentally, the Pierre-Fort Pierre Exchange Club has posted flags across the Missouri River bridge between Pierre and Fort Pierre Wednesday (July 31, 2024) to help welcome Corporal Bartlett home. Learn more about Bartlett in his obituary.

JULY 30, 2024:

The Pierre-Fort Pierre Exchange Club is posting flags across the Missouri River bridge between Pierre and Fort Pierre Wednesday (July 31, 2024) to honor a soldier from South Dakota killed during WWII.

The remains of 22 year old U.S. Army Corporal Robert A. Bartlett are scheduled to arrive at a funeral chapel in Pierre today. His body was accounted for in May (May 20, 2024).

Funeral services for Bartlett will be Aug. 10, 2024, at 1pm CT at the Blunt Methodist Church in Blunt. Overflow seating will be available at the school gymnasium, where the service will be live streamed. Following the service, Bartlett will be laid to rest with full military honors at Pleasant Hill Cemetery.