History
Soldier killed during WWII to be buried April 26 in California; he was part of unit known as Merrill’s Marauders
Stars and Stripes
April 16, 2025
U.S. Army Pvt. Roman Cherubini is pictured at left with his brother Pvt. Raymond Cherubini in a newspaper article. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
The remains of U.S. Army Pvt. Roman Cherubini, who was killed during World War II, will be interred April 26 at Big Crocker Cemetery in Big Pine, Calif. He will be buried with full military honors.
Cherubini, a native of Bridgeton, N.J., was assigned to F Company, 2nd Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as “Merrill’s Marauders.” He was killed in action June 16, 1944, at age 22, during conflict against heavily fortified Japanese positions north of Myitkyina, Burma.
Cherubini was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Dec. 16, 2024, after his remains were exhumed in January 2022 from National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu — also known as the Punchbowl — for laboratory analysis and identification.
About 81,000 American troops from past conflicts remain unaccounted for, according to the DPAA.