Previously unidentified World War II soldier’s remains to be laid to rest in Florence

The remains of U.S. Army Tec 5. Clifford H. Strickland of Fowler, who died as a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp during World War II, will have a final resting place in Florence. The 25-year-old Strickland, a member of Company C, 803rd Engineer Battalion (Aviation), was reportedly taken prisoner after the U.S. surrendered to the Japanese in the Bataan peninsula. Following the surrender, he endured the 65-mile Bataan Death March and died on July 29, 1942. He was buried in Common Grave 215 at a POW camp in the Philippines.

The American Graves Registration Service later brought those buried at the POW cemetery to a U. S. military mausoleum near Manila, and Strickland’s body was among the seven ultimately deemed unidentifiable. His remains were then moved to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in 1948, where they stayed for around 70 years. In 2018, the remains associated with Common Grave 215 were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for analysis using modern science.

On December 20, 2023, after 81 years, Strickland was finally identified using his teeth and DNA, among other methods. His remains will be buried at Union Highland Cemetery in Florence, providing closure to his family and honoring his service and sacrifice during World War II.