Missing Kentucky WWII soldier's remains to be returned home

EAST BERNSTADT, Ky. (WKYT) - A solider who has been missing since World War II will be buried in Kentucky Sept. 12. The remains of 33-year-old Technician Fourth Grade Rueben Smiddy will be laid to rest at Andes Cemetery in East Bernstadt. Smiddy reportedly entered the U.S. Army from Kentucky and served with the 17th Ordnance Company in the Philippines. He was taken prisoner after the American surrender in April 1942, then forced onto the Bataan Death March to Camp O'Donnell in Tarlac Province. Smiddy was assigned to the labor crew working on the Tayabas Road project at Camp O'Donnell and died June 15, 1942. He was buried with other prisoners of war near the road. Smiddy was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on May 12, 2025.