GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After nearly 80 years, the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Donald Hofman of Grand Rapids has been identified and accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
Hofman was a private first class in the U.S. Army and served in the European Theater during World War II. Hofman was assigned to the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in France during 1945.
In January of 1945, Hofman was in a unit that was tasked with supporting five companies that were attempting to secure terrain near Reipertswiller, France, which is about 10 miles from the German border. The operation was in response to a German offensive that was launched in December of 1944 named Operation Northwind.
Hofman's unit was surrounded by German forces and under heavy artillery and mortar fire, they were given orders to break out of their position. On Jan. 20, the unit attempted to break-out, but only two men were able to make it through the German lines. The rest of the soldiers were either captured or killed during the operation. Hofman was among those who were killed.
Hofman's body wasn't able to be recovered after he was killed because of the heavy fighting in the area.
After the war ended the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), an organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the area of Reipertswiller. During the search, AGRC was able to find the remains of 37 Americans, but was unable to identify any of them as Hofman. He would be declared non-recoverable by the organization on May 22, 1951.
Despite American personnel being listed as non-recoverable, the DPAA continues to use various methods to seek out and identify the remains.
DPAA historians continued their research into soldiers missing from combat around the Reipertswiller region and were able to find the grave of an American buried at Adrennes American Cemetery in Neuville-en-Corndroz, Belgium.
After the grave was discovered, the remains were disinterred in July of 2021 and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska for analysis.
Scientists from the DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, alongside other evidence, to identify the remains as U.S. Army Pfc. Donald Hofman. Additional analysis of DNA by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System helped in the identification.
Hofman had his name recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé, France. A rosette is planned to be placed next to Hofman's name to show that he has been accounted for.
Hofman will be burried in Byron Center at an undetermined date. Hofman was 19 when he was killed in France.
To learn more about the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at dpaa.mil.
The 3rd Battalion, of which Hofman was a soldier, would go on to liberate the Dachau concentration camp, near Munich, Germany on April 29, 1945.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.