Remains of World War II POW Who Died in the Philippines Returned Home

FILE: A member staff watches a digital display showcasing the identification photographs of British prisoners of war held abroad and foreign internees held in Britain, part of the Great Escapes: Remarkable Second World War Captives exhibition at the National Archives, in Kew, Richmond, England, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. A new exhibit that opened Friday Feb. 2, 2024 at The National Archives in London uses the 80th anniversary of the so- called Great Escape by allied airmen from a German prisoner of war camp to explore escapes by captives of all kinds during World War II. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
FILE: A member staff watches a digital display showcasing the identification photographs of British prisoners of war held abroad and foreign internees held in Britain, part of the Great Escapes: Remarkable Second World War Captives exhibition at the National Archives, in Kew, Richmond, England, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. A new exhibit that opened Friday Feb. 2, 2024 at The National Archives in London uses the 80th anniversary of the so- called Great Escape by allied airmen from a German prisoner of war camp to explore escapes by captives of all kinds during World War II. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
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Remains of World War II POW Who Died in the Philippines Returned Home

FILE: A member staff watches a digital display showcasing the identification photographs of British prisoners of war held abroad and foreign internees held in Britain, part of the Great Escapes: Remarkable Second World War Captives exhibition at the National Archives, in Kew, Richmond, England, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. A new exhibit that opened Friday Feb. 2, 2024 at The National Archives in London uses the 80th anniversary of the so- called Great Escape by allied airmen from a German prisoner of war camp to explore escapes by captives of all kinds during World War II. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
FILE: A member staff watches a digital display showcasing the identification photographs of British prisoners of war held abroad and foreign internees held in Britain, part of the Great Escapes: Remarkable Second World War Captives exhibition at the National Archives, in Kew, Richmond, England, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. A new exhibit that opened Friday Feb. 2, 2024 at The National Archives in London uses the 80th anniversary of the so- called Great Escape by allied airmen from a German prisoner of war camp to explore escapes by captives of all kinds during World War II. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

The long-unidentified remains of a World War II service member who died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines in 1942 were returned home to California on Tuesday.

The remains of US Army Air Forces Pvt. 1st Class Charles R. Powers, 18, of Riverside, were flown to Ontario International Airport east of Los Angeles for burial at Riverside National Cemetery on Thursday, 82 years to the day of his death.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in June that Powers was accounted for on May 26, 2023, after analysis of his remains, including use of DNA, The AP reported.

Powers was a member of 28th Materiel Squadron, 20th Air Base Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in late 1941, leading to surrender of US and Filipino forces on the Bataan peninsula in April 1942 and Corregidor Island the following month.

Powers was reported captured in the Bataan surrender and was among those subjected to the 65-mile (105-kilometer) Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan prison camp where more than 2,500 POWs died, the agency said.

Powers died on July 18, 1942, and was buried with others in a common grave. After the war, three sets of unidentifiable remains from the grave were reburied at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. They were disinterred in 2018 for laboratory analysis.

 

 

 

 

 



Australian Man Dies from Bat Bite

Fruit bats are known to carry Australian bat lyssavirus, but it is not known what species delivered the fatal bite. JOHN WILSON / AFP/File
Fruit bats are known to carry Australian bat lyssavirus, but it is not known what species delivered the fatal bite. JOHN WILSON / AFP/File
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Australian Man Dies from Bat Bite

Fruit bats are known to carry Australian bat lyssavirus, but it is not known what species delivered the fatal bite. JOHN WILSON / AFP/File
Fruit bats are known to carry Australian bat lyssavirus, but it is not known what species delivered the fatal bite. JOHN WILSON / AFP/File

An Australian man has died from an "extremely rare" rabies-like infection transmitted by a bat bite, health officials said Thursday.

The man in his 50s was bitten by a bat carrying Australian bat lyssavirus several months ago, the health service in New South Wales said.

"We express our sincere condolences to the man's family and friends for their tragic loss," NSW Health said in a statement.

"While it is extremely rare to see a case of Australian bat lyssavirus, there is no effective treatment for it."

The man from northern New South Wales, who has not been identified, was this week listed as being in a "critical condition" in hospital, said AFP.

The virus -- a close relative to rabies, which does not exist in Australia -- is transmitted when bat saliva enters the human body through a bite or scratch.

First symptoms can take days or years to appear.

Early signs of the disease are flu-like -- a headache, fever and fatigue, the health service said.

The victim's condition rapidly deteriorates, leading to paralysis, delirium, convulsions and death.

There were only three previous cases of human infection by Australian bat lyssavirus since it was first identified in 1996 -- all of them fatal.

People should avoid touching or handling bats, as any bat in Australia could carry lyssavirus, the New South Wales health service said.

"If you or someone you know is bitten or scratched by a bat, you need to wash the wound thoroughly for 15 minutes right away with soap and water and apply an antiseptic with anti-virus action," it said.

"Patients then require treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine."

The virus has been found in species of flying foxes and insect-eating microbats, NSW Health said.

The type of bat involved in the latest fatality has not been identified.