CHARLOTTE, N.C. — DNA, dental and other analyses confirmed the identity of remains buried in Belgium as a 27-year-old World War II soldier from North Carolina who died during battle in a German forest, officials with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Friday.
Army Pfc. David Owens, of Green Hill in Watauga County, was among the first soldiers to land on the French coast on D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Allied troops invaded Nazi-occupied France, according to newspaper clippings when Owens was reported missing in action on Nov. 22, 1944.
Owens died while his unit battled German forces in the Hurtgen Forest, which is near Hurtgen, Germany, according to a DPAA news release. The release included newspaper photos and clippings of Owens from when we was reported missing.