Kansas soldier’s remains ID’d 79 years later
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A Kansas soldier killed in World War II has been accounted for, the military announced Friday.
The remains of Sgt. Gregory Knoll, Hill City, had been missing since he was killed in combat in November 1944. Anthropologists used DNA analysis to identify his remains.
Knoll’s army battalion was trying to capture the town of Schmidt, Germany, when he was killed, the military said in a release.
“A heavy German counterattack overran his unit and forces survivors to withdraw to Kommerscheidt where they fought against additional enemy attacks,” the release said. “He was reported killed in action on Nov. 7., while fighting enemy forces at Kommerscheidt. His remains could not be recovered after the attack.”
In April 1946, a historian found remains possibly belonging to Knoll. In 1949, the remains were buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium. They were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, to be identified. Knoll – who was 22 when he died – was officially accounted for on Jan. 3, 2023.
Knoll will be buried on July 7, 2023, in Garden City.