, Fla. — Decades after being taken a WW II prisoner of war, U.S. Army Air Forecs Sgt. Leonard J. McNeill is coming home to Orlando, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Tuesday. Sgt. McNeill’s remains were accounted for on October 9, 2025.
Sgt. McNeill, who died as a Prisoner of War, served as a tail gunner aboard a Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” bomber. During a bombing missing against the Nakajima Aircraft Enging Plant, the aircraft crashed. Circumstances surrounding the crash are unknown.
McNeill survived the crash, but was held as a prisoner of war at the Tokyo Military Prison. In May of 1945, there was a fire at the Prison where The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says Sgt. McNeill died.
After the war, the Amercian Graves Registration Service recovered 65 sets of remains from the Tokyo Military Prison, they were unable to identify any as McNeill. After identification efforts, U.S. forces interred 39 Unkowns associated with the prison.
In 2022, the 39 Unknowns were exhumed for comparison to associated casualties. Scientists identified Sgt. McNeill’s remains through DNA testing and comparisons with thirty-nine previously unknown soldiers.
Sgt. McNeill will be buried in his hometown on Nov. 11, 2026
Family and funeral information can be foud by visiting the Army Casualty Office.
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