RICHMOND, Va. -- A Virginia soldier who gave his life fighting for his country in World War II will now be coming home.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced that U.S. Army Sergeant Mayburn L. Hudson of Roanoke, Va has been accounted for.
In August of 1944 the 21 year-old Hudson was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division in the European Theater during World War II.
According to the military on August 7, Hudson's unit came under heavy German fire in the vicinity of Saint-Malo, in Brittany, France. "Company F was given the order to assault a heavily fortified German position atop a hill, called 'The Citadel'," the Agency would write in a release.
Facing harsh fire from the well defended forces the 330th Infantry Regiment suffered heavy losses including Sergeant Hudson. His body was not recovered due to ongoing fighting and he was initially listed as Missing in Action.
It wasn't until a few months later when his remains were still not accounted for that the War Department would issue a "Report of Death."
In November of 1944, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, received notification from a French citizen that several Americans were buried close to where Sgt. Hudson was killed.
The AGRC searched the area and found several sets of American remains but was unable to identify one of them as Hudson.
The unidentified remains were then buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery at St. James, France. That cemetery is now the Brittany American Cemetery.
Through on-going research though DPAA historians say they were able to associate the remains to Mayburn Hudson.
His body was exhumed in June of 2019 and sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for analysis. There researchers were able to use dental analysis and other evidence to connect the body with Hudson.
Hudson’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie Saint Martin, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hudson will now be buried on August 7, 2024 in Lynchburg, Va.
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