Death & Burial
Major O'Donovan's remains buried here. Manila, Philippines
Major O'Donovan's remains thought lost, possibly found
Having died On October 18, 1942 Major O'Donovan was buried the following day in grave #649 of the officer's plot located in the cemetery outside of camp #1 Cabanatuan. He was the 1,998th American to die at that camp from malnutrition, poor sanitation, and no medicine.
In 1945, After the conclusion of the war, the soldiers buried at Cabanatuan were exhumed by the Graves Registration Service and moved to a temporary cemetery in Manila, called Manila Cemetery #2. Later they were again exhumed and relocated to a Mausoleum at Nichols Field for analysis and identification.
A soldiers' remains could be returned home for burial in the United States if there were 2 types of identification, for example: dog tags and dental matching. Major O'Donovan was recorded as being buried in grave #649 but unfortunately, secondary identification on the remains could not at that time be made. There is also some confusion about whether Major O'Donovan's remains were accidentally mixed with the remains of other soldiers. About 2700 American soldiers were buried at Cabanatuan and James was among the 1000 of them that were never individually identified and therefore buried as "Unknown".
In 1952, the remains associated with Major O'Donovan were buried in a grave marked "140" in row 10, Plot H of the Manila American Cemetery. All of the aforementioned details were classified, and not revealed to the public until 2010.
Sadly, his wife and their 5 young children were advised that his remains could not be identified, his body was forever lost to them. And that's how the story ended.. Or so we thought.
In Feb 2018, thanks to the generous help of POW/MIA researchers and research forums and websites, I discovered the US Government had been using family DNA samples to identify and bring home the remains of the "Unknowns" from battlefields and cemeteries all over the world. My family soon after submitted the requisite DNA samples. A year and a half later (Aug 2019) we were notified that the DOD has approved the request for disinterment. In January of 2020 we were informed that the remains were removed from Manila, and that they are now in Hawaii being processed for DNA identification. We are told this may take between 3 and 24 months to complete. No updates have been given as of Aug 2023.
Record of admission into Prison camp hospital. He was admitted in July, and died there in October.
Death Certificate of Maj. O'Donovan written on the back side of a milk can label.
