81 Years Later, A Hero Returns Home
After nearly 81 years, the remains of U.S. Army Private Mack Kidd—who gave his life during World War II—have finally been identified and are returning home to his family. On February 14, 2025, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) confirmed Pvt. Kidd’s identity using a combination of circumstantial evidence and advanced forensic methods, including DNA testing.
Private Kidd was just 20 years old when he served with Merrill’s Marauders (5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)) in the summer of 1944. His elite unit was tasked with deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines in Burma, enduring brutal jungle warfare. On July 12, 1944, during the battle for the village of Myitkyina, Pvt. Kidd was killed in action. His remains could not be recovered at the time, and he was officially declared non-recoverable in August 1950.
For decades, Pvt. Kidd rested unknowingly among the fallen. He had been interred as an unknown soldier at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu. In 2018, the DPAA launched a renewed effort to identify World War II unknowns buried there, focusing especially on those who fought in the Battle of Myitkyina. A set of remains exhumed in September 2021 was analyzed in their laboratory and ultimately identified as Pvt. Mack Kidd.
Though Pvt. Kidd was not originally from Alabama, his family now resides here—and it is here that they’ve chosen to bring him home. He is also honored on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines, a solemn tribute to those lost in the Pacific Theater.
American Legion Post 25 in Moulton will proudly escort Pvt. Kidd’s remains from Nashville International Airport to Lawrence Funeral Home.
His homecoming will take place on Thursday, July 17, with the procession expected to arrive around 6:00 PM. Citizens are encouraged to line the streets along Highway 24 and Highway 157 to honor this American hero as he returns to his final resting place.
Let us show Pvt. Kidd and his family the gratitude, respect, and remembrance he so deeply deserves.
