Gov. Beshear orders flags lowered for Kentucky WWII soldier

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear has ordered flags at all state buildings lowered to half-staff Wednesday to honor a Kentucky soldier who was killed during World War II but was not accounted for until Jan. 29, 2026.

According to a release from the governor’s office, U.S. Army Pvt. Mike Raymond McDowell was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as Merrill’s Marauders. McDowell was reportedly killed in action during the Battle of Myitkyina in Burma.

Officials say the limited number of records that survived the battle did not contain details about his death, though they believe he was killed somewhere between Radhapur and Sitapur. McDowell’s remains were not identified, and he was declared non-recoverable in April 1952.

After World War II, recovery teams searched the Myitkyina area and recovered additional remains. Some could not be identified and were eventually buried as unknown service members at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began a new effort to identify remains linked to the Battle of Myitkyina. The agency exhumed two sets of unknown remains in late 2021 and early 2022 and sent them to a laboratory for testing. Using modern forensic methods, scientists identified McDowell.

A repatriation service for McDowell will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 29, at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff.

Beshear ordered flags at all state buildings lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset Wednesday in McDowell’s honor. He also encouraged residents, businesses and organizations across Kentucky to take part in the tribute.