12.11.25

Hoeven: Remains of ND WWII Servicemember Irvin C. Ellingson, POW Killed in Tokyo Military Prison Fire, Identified by DPAA

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the service of U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson, a Dahlen, North Dakota native who served during World War II. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of Ellingson, 25, were accounted for on June 17, 2025.

In the spring of 1945, Ellingson served as a radar observer aboard a Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” bomber assigned to 878th Bombardment Squadron, 499th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy). During a combat mission to Tokyo, Japan, the aircraft was shot down over Chiba Prefecture. Ellingson survived the crash but was captured and held as a prisoner of war. He lost his life on May 26, 1945 in the Tokyo Military Prison during a fire.

“Thank you to the DPAA for their work in identifying Staff Sgt. Ellingson. We must never forget the courage and sacrifice made by our servicemembers during WWII,” said Hoeven. “Irvin, who was killed along with thousands of other Americans during the war, continues to remind us of the bravery of the Greatest Generation. May we always honor Irvin’s sacrifice and join his family, his fellow veterans and all North Dakotans in commemorating his life and service.”

Hoeven helped advance legislation in 2014 that created the DPAA, and since that time, he has worked to support the agency as it seeks to locate and bring home the remains of missing service personnel. Additionally in 2021, Hoeven along with several of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to the Defense Secretary requesting that the Department of Defense allow DPAA to disinter U.S. servicemember remains at the Manila American Cemetery. Ultimately, the DPAA was able to conduct the disinterment that led to the identification of Ellingson and his fellow servicemembers. The DPAA identified Ellingson’s remains using anthropological and DNA analysis and other circumstantial evidence. Ellingson’s name is listed on the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, where a rosette will be placed next to his name to mark that he’s been identified. He will be buried in his hometown on June 20, 2026.

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