KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The remains of a 23-year-old East Tennessee tank crewman killed in World War II finally returned home.
Army Cpl. Joe A. Vinyard, born in 1921 in Loudon County, died in December 1944 as his 744th Tank Battalion advanced in Germany. Tank companies met fierce opposition as they attacked the towns of Gey and Strass, according to a history of the battalion.
There were five men on Vinyard's tank, according to an obituary notice for Vinyard. All made it out alive after a battle Dec. 11, 1944, except Vinyard. Limited remains were recovered.
His name was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.
Decades later, the remains were tested and compared with DNA from a sister to make the match. The remains were accounted for last year through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
"DNA is kind of the main way we do it," said Jim Bell, from the U.S. Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs. "We have accounts written from the tank crew that was actually there, and from soldiers actually there, so that is very interesting and gives us more details that we can then provide the family."
Vinyard enlisted in the Army in August 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
Smith Funeral and Cremation in Maryville is handling arrangements. Vinyard's remains are expected to be returned to East Tennessee in June.
A memorial service and burial will be planned at a later date in June and will be announced in a formal obituary, according to Smith.
