A World War II soldier from Duchesne who died as a Prisoner Of War has officially been
found. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reported on Thursday that U.S.
Army Air Force Private Doyle W. Sexton was officially identified and accounted for 3
months ago on July 13th. Private Sexton served in the Philippines and was captured on
the Bataan Peninsula following the American surrender on April 9th, 1942. Private
Sexton died of diphtheria on July 19th, 1942, at the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp,
where he was buried in a communal grave with other deceased American POWs. At its
peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war. To
identify Sexton’s remains, scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as
mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome DNA analysis. Sexton will be buried in
Arlington National Cemetery on a date to be determined.
