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Grand Rapids soldier killed during World War II finally brought home

Pfc. Donald Hofman.jfif
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FORT KNOX, Ky. — A soldier from Grand Rapids who was killed during World War II will finally be laid to rest after nearly fifty years of searching.

The soldier was 19-year-old Army Pfc. Donald Hofman, a native of Grand Rapids.

During the war, Hofman was sent to France, having been assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

In January 1945, Hofman's unit was supporting five companies attempting to secure terrain near Reipertswiller, France. They were surrounded by German forces and overwhelmed by artillery and mortar fire.

On January 20, the surrounded companies were ordered to break-out. Only two men made it through German lines. The rest were either captured or killed.

Tragically, Hofman was among those killed. His body could not be recovered while the fighting raged.

In 1946, with the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command began searching around Reipertswiller to recover fallen American personnel. 37 unidentified sets of American remains were found, but none could not be identified as Hofman.

In 1951, Hofman was declared non-recoverable.

However, in July 2021, an unidentified soldier buried at Ardennes American Cemetery was disinterred after historians at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency found that the soldier could be associated with Hofman.

The body was then transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for analysis.

Thanks to dental, anthropological, and DNA analysis, Hofman was officially identified on July 8, 2022.

Hofman will be interned on October 8, at Winchester Cemetery.

Zaagman Memorial Chapel, a local funeral home, plans to deliver graveside services for the Grand Rapids soldier. Meanwhile, in France, a rosette will be placed by Hofman's name on the Walls of the Missing at the Epinal American Cemetery, to mark that he has been found and accounted for.

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