Remains of Macoupin County WWII soldier, unaccounted for for nearly 80 years, arrive home
MT. OLIVE -- The remains of a Macoupin County soldier killed during World War II have been returned to central Illinois after nearly 80 years.
Sgt. John W. Radanovich, a member of the 4th Infantry Division, was killed by German forces in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in December 1944. He was 23 years old at the time.
Radanovich's remains were brought to Becker and Son Funeral Home in Mt. Olive accompanied by a military escort on Thursday.
A visitation and service will be held for Radanovich at the funeral home on Saturday. Following the service, his remains will be interred in the family plot at Union Miners Cemetery in Mt. Olive.
A native of White City and a star athlete in high school at Mt. Olive, Radanovich enlisted in the U.S. Army while he was living in Michigan in November 1942. He had moved there to be closer to family members.
Between September 1944 and February 1945, a series of clashes took place over 50 square miles along the German–Belgian border. Radanovich's rifle platoon was engaged in a fierce counterattack with the Germans on Dec. 1, 1944. According to Radanovich's obituary, that was the last time he was seen alive.
The Germans never reported Radanovich as a prisoner of war, and because of the protracted battle, Radanovich's regiment couldn't do a thorough search of the area.
On Dec. 2, 1945, one year and one day after Radanovich was last seen, the U.S. War Department issued a presumptive finding of death.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command conducted several investigations of the battle area between 1946 and 1950, but none of the recovered remains were identified as Radanovich.
Vincent Speranza, popular WWII veteran and hero, passes away at 98
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen Forest, a historian with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) determined that one set of unidentified remains recovered near the town of Grosshau in 1946 possibly belonged to Radanovich. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, were disinterred in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
Radanovich was accounted for by the DPAA on May 11 after his remains were identified using circumstantial evidence as well as anthropological, mitochondrial DNA and autosomal DNA analysis.
Radanovich's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Radanovich's last sibling, Louise (Radanovich) Kaganich, passed away on Nov. 18, 2020, in Alhambra, Illinois. She was 101 years old.
Radanovich is survived by two nephews and a niece.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: A WWII soldier from Macoupin County has been accounted and will be laid to rest
