Tennessee soldier accounted for from World War II

WASHINGTON — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Condia Lynch Jr., 20, of Knoxville, Tennessee, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 18, 2025.

Lynch’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In the fall of 1942, Lynch was a member of 31st Infantry Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Lynch was among those reported captured when U.S. forces on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese. He was subsequently held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Lynch died on June 28, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 407.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and recovered what they believed were 25 sets of remains from Common Grave 407.

17 of the sets were identified based on the presence of identification tags, leaving eight unidentified that were buried as Unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM).

In November 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, the remains associated with Common Grave 407 were disinterred from the MACM and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Lynch’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, mitochondrial genome sequencing data and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism testing.

Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Lynch’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Lynch will be buried on a date yet to be determined.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

DPAA is grateful to the ABMC and the United States Army for their partnership in this mission.

For additional information on the War Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.

Lynch’s personnel profile can be viewed at Pvt. CONDIA LYNCH – Service Member Profile

Read Lynch’s initial ID announcement here: Lynch.

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