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Remains of missing U.S. WWII soldier who survived Bataan Death March identified after 82 years
The remains of a missing World War II soldier from Oregon have been identified and are set to return to the state for burial, federal authorities announced Thursday.
The remains of U.S. Army Private William Calkins, 20, were identified after being exhumed along with other unknown soldiers buried at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines, the Department of Defense said.
The department’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, tasked with recovering prisoners of war and service members missing in action, said Calkins was captured after U.S. troops in Bataan province surrendered to Japanese forces. After surviving the harrowing 65-mile Bataan Death March, he was held at Cabanatuan POW Camp #1, where records show he died on Nov. 1, 1942, at the age of 20.
In a news release, the agency included multiple Oregon newspaper clippings from the war, including one that reads: “Word has been received in Salem that Pvt. William E. Calkins, formerly employed by the Perfection Bowling alleys, is a prisoner of war.”
DPAA
Calkins was buried with other prisoners in what was known as Common Grave 704.
After the war, his remains were exhumed from the camp and relocated to the Philippine capital, where they were buried as “unknowns” at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, the agency said. They remained unidentified until this year.
In 2018, in an effort to identify the unknown remains associated with Common Grave 704, the agency exhumed them once again and sent them to a laboratory. There, scientists used DNA analysis and other techniques to identify Calkins’ remains.
A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery to indicate he has been accounted for, the agency said.
Calkins’ remains are set to return to Oregon for burial in the Portland suburb of Hillsboro in September.
According to the DPAA, prisoners at Cabanatuan POW Camp #1 endured horrific conditions and death rates soared due to lack of medicine and food.
“Because so many men were dying, burial parties worked every day. Each morning, the men would gather at the morgue and organize into teams to begin the march to the cemetery. The camp adopted a mass internment system, burying all that died in one day in one common grave,” the agency said. “The burial party would deliver the dead to the cemetery and then dig the mass grave for the next day.”
DPAA
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.