By Daniela Vestal, U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army 1st Lt. Robert P. Aikman, 40, killed during World War II, was interred May 22, in Forsyth Cemetery in Forsyth, Montana.

In January 1945, Aikman was assigned to Battery D, 1st Battalion, 59th Coastal Artillery Corps. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Empire of Japan in the Philippines from 1942 to 1944 when the Japanese military moved POWs to Manila for transport to Japan aboard the transport ship Oryoku Maru. Unaware the allied POWs were on board, a U.S. carrier-borne aircraft attacked the Oryoku Maru, which eventually sank in Subic Bay. After a series of land and naval transfers, Aikman was transported to Takao, Formosa, aboard the Enoura Maru. The Japanese government reported that Aikman died on January 9, 1945, when U.S. forces sank the Enoura Maru. He was declared non-recoverable on March 22, 1949.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Aikman April 2, 2025.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Aikman, please visit: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4159055/soldier-accounted-for-from-wwii-aikman-r/

U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.

Soldier Accounted For From WWII (Aikman, R.)

Press Release April 17, 2025

WASHINGTON  –  The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army 1st Lt. Robert P. Aikman, 40, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 2, 2025.

In January 1945, Aikman was assigned to Battery D, 1st Battalion, 59th Coastal Artillery Corps. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Empire of Japan in the Philippines from 1942 to 1944 when the Japanese military moved POWs to Manila for transport to Japan aboard the transport ship Oryoku Maru. Unaware the allied POWs were on board, a U.S. carrier-borne aircraft attacked the Oryoku Maru, which eventually sank in Subic Bay. After a series of land and naval transfers, Aikman was transported to Takao, Formosa, aboard the Enoura Maru. The Japanese government reported that Aikman died on January 9, 1945, when U.S. forces sank the Enoura Maru. He was declared non-recoverable on March 22, 1949.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Aikman’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.