Rosettes were recently placed next to the names of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Allan Knepper, left, and Army Pfc. Harry Hosfelt on the Wall of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery. The rosettes signify that the remains of the two servicemen who died during World War II have been recovered and identified. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)

NAPLES, Italy — Two American Servicemen who died in Italy during World War II are no longer considered missing in action.

Rosettes were placed Friday next to the names of Army Pfc. Harry Hosfelt and Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Allan Knepper on the Wall of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in the Italian town of Nettuno, the American Battle Monuments Commission said in a statement Monday.

The bronze markings indicate that the soldiers’ remains have been identified.

Hosfelt was killed on February 9, 1944, during a battle with German forces near the town of Cisterna di Latina. The 20-year-old native of Connellsville, Pa., was assigned to Company A, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

His remains were recovered in March 1945, but officials did not have enough information to positively identify him. The remains were subsequently buried at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a June 6 statement.

In 2021, Hosfelt’s remains were exhumed and tested, and he was finally officially accounted for on September 28, 2023, according to the DPAA. He was buried in Connellsville on June 29.

Rosettes recently placed on the Wall of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery mark the recovery and identification of the remains of two U.S. servicemen who went missing during World War II. The rosettes were added July 19, 2024, alongside the names of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Allan Knepper and Army Pfc. Harry Hosfelt. (American Battle Monuments Commission)

Knepper, 27, of Lewiston, Idaho, was killed on July 10, 1943, when the P-38 Lightning fighter plane he was flying came under enemy fire and crashed near Caltagiorne, Sicily, the DPAA said in a separate July 11 statement.

Knepper’s plane crashed during one of many sorties against enemy forces during Operation Husky, the Allied powers’ first attempt to retake Europe. More than 2,000 American servicemen were killed in the operation.

From 2015 to 2023, the Defense Department and its partners investigated, investigated and excavated a crash site near Caltagirone, finding evidence and remains believed to be linked to Knepper. He was found on August 10, 2023, the DPAA said.

Knepper, assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group in the North African and Mediterranean theaters, will be buried Aug. 2 in Lewiston, the DPAA said..

The rosettes for Hosfelt and Knepper are the 18th and 19th additions to the wall of the missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, which contains the names of 3,095 American service members, according to the AMBC.