World War II soldier buried in Fayette County after 80 years

CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. — A World War II soldier was honored and buried in Fayette County 80 years after his death.

Private Harry Hosfelt Jr. was just 20 when he was killed in action. He was from Connellsville and was assigned to the Company A 30th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division in 1944. He died as he was fighting German forces in Cisterna di Latina, Italy on Feb. 9 of that year.

The POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to identify Hostfelt’s remains last year. They said members of the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) were out in charge of finding the remains of missing Americans. One of their investigators found a set of remains in Ponte Rotto. At the time, they did not have enough information to identify the remains so they were taken to what is now the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuna.

Decades later, a POW/MIA DPAA historian connected the dots and determined that the remains in the cemetery may belong to Hosfelt. The remains were sent to a lab in Sept. 2021 where scientists were able to confirm that assumption with DNA testing.

The remains were brought back to Connellsville so that Hosfelt could be given proper honors. His family, including his daughter and daughter-in-law, went to the Green Ridge Memorial Park for his ceremony.

“Today was lovely. The Army did an excellent job, everybody turned out for him. We’re very proud of him. He’s a hero,” said Joyce Hosfelt, Harry’s daughter-in-law.

Hosfelt’s name was recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery but the DPAA said a rosette will be put next to his name to show that he has been found and returned home.

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