Remains of WWII soldier from Scottville identified

Frank Benak

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

On February 2, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Frank Vincent Benak of Scottville, missing from World War II.

Corporal Benak was the son of Vincent and Barbara Benak, immigrants from Yugoslavia who owned a dairy farm east of Scottville. He was born on May 17, 1918 and entered the U.S. Army in Michigan and served in Cannon Company, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division.

In late 1942, the division was engaged with Japanese forces around Buna, Papua New Guinea. American and Australian troops encountered harsh terrain and well concealed and entrenched defenders in their struggle to liberate this area from enemy control. On Dec. 5, 1942, Cpl Benak and another soldier were on a combat patrol near Buna Creek when they encountered enemy forces and came under fire. The other soldier was wounded and managed to return to friendly lines, but Benak was never seen again.

On Dec. 14, 1942, unidentified remains of an American soldier were buried at the Buna Village Cemetery. These remains were eventually transferred to the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

The Jan. 9, 1943 edition of the Ludington Daily News reported that Benak had been reported missing. The article stated that his parents reported they had not heard from their son in about two weeks.

In May 2012, Australian Defense Force personnel looking for unresolved casualties near Buna observed an identification tag that belonged to Cpl Benak in the possession of a village leader. This discovery led to the disinterment of the unidentified remains from the Manila American Cemetery for further study. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established that the remains were those of Frank Benak.

Benak is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. Benak was 24-years-old when he died.

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