Remains of Marine Missing in Action for 80 Years Finally Identified and Returned Home

The remains of Pvt. George Coe Browning, a Marine who went missing in action during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945, have been positively identified and will be laid to rest on Monday in Englewood's Brookside Cemetery alongside his mother. Browning's remains were among those of 50 unknown soldiers killed in the battle and were initially buried on Iwo Jima before being shipped to a laboratory in Saipan.

Thanks to the work of WFI Research Group, a Florida-based nonprofit, Browning's remains were identified in April, and he will be given a military funeral on Monday. His lone surviving relatives, including his 81-year-old nephew Peter Clay, will attend the ceremony.

Browning was reported missing in action on February 20, 1945, the second day of the invasion of Iwo Jima, after being dispatched from his unit to pick up radio gear on an adjoining beach. His body was never recovered, and he became one of the 72,000 service members from World War II still listed as Missing in Action.

The break in the case came in January 2019, when Clay received a letter from Ted Darcy, a retired Marine gunnery sergeant who runs the WFI Research Group. Darcy had compiled a database with the files of 33,000 MIA service members and worked with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to identify missing Marines.

Browning's remains were disinterred in April, and laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence established the remains as those of Pvt. Browning. His nephew, Peter Clay, said he's seen the sketch of the remains and it's clear to him that his uncle was killed by mortar fire.

Browning's mother and two sisters died without ever knowing what happened to him. Although he never met his uncle, Clay said Browning had a huge impact on his life, as the savings bonds Browning bought while in the service paid for Clay's college tuition.