Capt. Willibald C. Bianchi, an Army Medal of Honor recipient who survived many obstacles in World War II, only to be killed in a terrible mistake, will finally return home to receive proper burial 80 years after he was declared missing in action.
Bianchi, whose remains were properly identified on Aug. 11 by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, will be laid to rest in his hometown, New Ulm, Minnesota, in May 2026, just in time for Memorial Day, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Bianchi’s journey through World War II was harrowing. He survived getting wounded twice, the notorious Bataan Death March, and captivity in a prisoner of war camp. The Army captain was killed at age 29 when his POW transport ship was bombed mistakenly by U.S. forces.
For his bravery and heroics, Bianchi was honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor, the country’s most prestigious military award. Bianchi is one of only 473 soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor for acts of valor in World War II.
Poor Farm Boy Turned Soldier
After his remains were identified and his story came to light, Bianchi was honored at the Minnesota Veterans Day program in Mankato.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the New Ulm native was raised on a small chicken farm. Tragedy struck Bianchi at a young age. His father was killed in an accident, and Bianchi opted to leave high school to care for the family farm.
He enrolled in the University of Minnesota Farm School, and classmates tagged him with a new nickname – “Medals.”
“That’s because he wore his ROTC uniform, partly because he could not afford clothing,” Klobuchar said during the Veterans Day event. “But also, because he was so proud.”
Despite the tragic way he died, Klobuchar said Bianchi’s story is one of sacrifice that can’t be forgotten.
“His story reminds us of a solemn promise that we bring every missing hero home,” Klobuchar said. “No matter how long it takes. The story reminds us that we can never fully repay what our veterans have given our nation, but we can honor their service now.”
Wounded Multiple Times in Battle
When Bianchi was assigned to the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines in 1942, little did he know his life would change.
As a commander, he led the Philippine Scouts of Company D, 1st Battalion, 45th Infantry Regiment. On Feb. 3, 1942, he volunteered for a deadly assignment, clearing out machine gun nests manned by Japanese soldiers. He was hit twice on the hand with bullets, but kept leading the charge. He simply switched from a rifle to a pistol and forged ahead, wiping out an enemy nest with a grenade. Incredibly, Bianchi was wounded two more times, including shots to the chest, before being knocked to the ground by a tank round.
Bianchi’s actions in the Philippines earned him the Medal of Honor.
POW Time Leads to Unfortunate Death
Bianchi, a 1st lieutenant at the time, was taken prisoner on April 9, 1942, and kept as a POW by Japanese forces until 1944, when Japan decided to transport prisoners to Manila in the Philippines and transfer them to the ship Oryoku Maru, prepared to sail to Japan.
But an American aircraft attacked the ship, not knowing it was carrying POWs. The ship sank in Subic Bay, but Bianchi survived the attack. Bianchi was then shipped to Takao, Formosa, known today as Taiwan, on the Enoura Maru.
Perhaps having the worst luck imaginable, Bianchi’s ship was again struck by U.S. bombers in January 1945, killing the soldier and other prisoners of war on board.
In 1946, after the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command began investigating what happened to Bianchi and the other POWs. The organization recovered 311 bodies buried in a mass grave on a beach. Investigators couldn’t identify the remains, but they sent them to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, aka “The Punchbowl,” in Hawaii for burial.
Several decades later, through DNA testing and anthropological analysis, Bianchi’s remains were finally identified in a DPAA laboratory. The veteran’s name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, grouped with other MIA soldiers.
But after more than 80 years, Bianchi has been accounted for and, according to the DPAA, a rosette will be attached next to his name to signify the soldier has been found.
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