‘It didn’t seem possible’: Remains of Bloomfield WWII vet ID’d 76 years later – NorthJersey.com

The remains of a Bloomfield World War II veteran have been identified 76 years after he was declared dead, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced.

Army Sgt. Larry Wassil, 33, went missing in December 1944 while leading a reconnaissance team near Bergstein, Germany. The team had taken fire from enemy machine guns, and when it ceased, the other two team members found each other, the DPAA said. But Wassil was never found.

Wassil’s daughter, Barbara Loock, was 12 years old when her father died. Now 88, she couldn’t believe that the remains were found after all this time.

“I’d never thought that they’d find anything,” she said.

Wassil was not listed as a prisoner of war by the Germans after going missing, and the War Department issued a presumptive finding of death a year later. His remains were declared non-recoverable in 1951 after years of unsuccessful searches, the agency said.

But in 1952, German wood cutters found unidentified remains, which were then interred at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium. A DPAA historian identified those remains as possibly being Wassil, and they were sent to the U.S. for testing in 2019, the agency said.

“To identify Wassil’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence,” the agency said in a press release. 

The agency announced Monday that Wassil was finally accounted for on July 27, more than three-quarters of a century after he initially disappeared.

Wassil was born on July 12, 1911 to Matthew and Helen Wassil, Polish and Austrian immigrants, according to the 1930 U.S. Census. He worked as a machinist for Walter Kidde, according to his draft card.

He enlisted in March of 1942 at Fort Dix with the rank of private.

Loock was informed in 2019 that her father’s remains might have been located and that it was being investigated.

“I thought ‘Oh my goodness,”” Loock said. “It didn’t seem possible. But here we are.”

Loock grew up in Nutley with her mother and younger brother, Larry. Her cousins lived in Bloomfield, where Wassil lived, and the entire family was close with one another.

Loock now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband. 

The younger Larry died in 2019, a couple of weeks after they had gotten the news that Wassil’s remains might have been located. But Loock had put together a collection of photos and medals belonging to her that the DPAA sent, and gave it to her brother shortly before he died.

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“He got to know that there was a finalization too,” she said.

Wassil was divorced from his first wife, but would often visit his children with his girlfriend, Loock said. His girlfriend would take pictures of the family Loock said, remembering that it was a big deal at the time.

“In those days it was only like wealthy people had cameras,” she said.

Loock also remembers when her father enlisted in the Army. He told Loock that he was going to “be away.” She knew what that meant.

Now decades after her father never returned from Germany, Loock has three children of her own, as well as six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. 

The plan is to have a funeral for Wassil at Arlington National Cemetery sometime in May 2022, to properly honor him for his service. Loock said she and her entire family plan to be there. 

Kaitlyn Kanzler contributed to this story.

Liam Quinn is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Email: quinnl@northjersey.com

Twitter: @Liam_D_Quinn