Overview

• DPAA officially accounted for Bianchi on Aug. 11, 2025, and publicly announced the identification on Sept. 19 during National POW/MIA Recognition Day events in Honolulu.
• The case is tied to the Enoura Maru Project, which seeks to identify POWs from the Oryoku Maru, Enoura Maru and Brazil Maru; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted 431 unknowns linked to the Enoura Maru sinking.
• Reports differ on the exact ship and location of Bianchi’s death, citing either an attack on the Enoura Maru in Takao Harbor or the Oryoku Maru in Subic Bay.
• Bianchi’s remains had been interred as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and a bronze rosette now marks his name on the Walls of the Missing in Manila.
• Officials said his remains will be returned to Minnesota for burial as DPAA highlighted a broader milestone of 220 identifications in the current fiscal year.