Louisville, Ky. – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Tuesday that the remains of Technician Fifth Grade Robert W. Hirst have been positively identified and will be returned to his hometown for burial with full military honors. Hirst, a native of Washington state who served with the Medical Detachment of the 194th Tank Battalion, was captured during the fall of the Bataan Peninsula in April 1942 and forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March.
Identification and return
After a painstaking forensic analysis at a laboratory in Offutt Air Force Base, the agency confirmed Hirst’s identity in April 2026. His remains are being flown to Louisville, where a funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday and a burial with honors set for Thursday. The ceremony will allow Hirst to be laid to rest near his surviving family members, providing long‑awaited closure for relatives who have honored his memory for generations.
Hirst’s wartime experience
Hirst survived the brutal march that claimed thousands of American and Filipino prisoners through violence, starvation, disease and exhaustion. Following the march, he was interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, one of the largest POW camps in the Philippines. Conditions there were harsh, with limited food and water. Hirst succumbed to malaria on July 5, 1942, and was buried in a common grave with fellow American soldiers.
Post‑war handling of the remains
After World War II, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed the remains from Cabanatuan and transferred them to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, officials attempted to identify the soldiers, successfully naming some while others were interred as Unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. Decades later, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency renewed efforts to bring closure to families of the missing.
Community response
Local veterans groups and community leaders have expressed gratitude for the return of Hirst’s remains, noting the importance of honoring those who sacrificed for freedom. “We are humbled to welcome Technician Hirst home,” said a representative of the Louisville Veterans Association. “His story reminds us of the bravery of our service members and the enduring duty we have to remember them.”
Future remembrance
The burial will take place at a Louisville cemetery close to Hirst’s family plot, allowing relatives and friends to pay their respects. The ceremony underscores the nation’s ongoing commitment to accounting for missing service members and ensuring that their sacrifices are never forgotten.
Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.
