Remains of Pinal County soldier killed in World War II identified

COOLIDGE, AZ (AZFamily) – A World War II soldier who died nearly eight decades ago has been identified as an Arizona man.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the soldier killed in action was identified as U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Alcario V. Flores, 37, of Coolidge, Arizona.

Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve 1944, German troops launched an attack called Operation NORDWIND. The German attack broke through the Allied defenses.

Fighting continued for the next few weeks, and Flores’ unit was assigned to a sector called “Hoch Ebersberg” in France. However, Flores was killed during the fight on January 21. Due to the intensity of the fighting, Flores’ body could not be recovered, officials say.

Since there were no records of Flores’ capture by German soldiers and no remains were found, the War Department issued a death notice in January 1946.

Decades later, in 2021, a person using a metal detector discovered human remains while illegally collecting war relics from a foxhole in Hoch Ebersberg. The witness found evidence linked to the remains of the US troops, including clothing and .30 caliber bullet casings.

The remains were sent to a DPAA laboratory for analysis. Based on dental and mitochondrial DNA, it was determined that the remains belonged to Flores.

Flores’ name is on the walls of the missing at the Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé, France, along with other missing people from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to show he has been found, officials say.

Flores will be buried in Tempe on August 3, 2024.

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