Gov. Andy Beshear has ordered flags at all Kentucky state buildings lowered to half-staff on July 29 to honor a World War II soldier whose remains were only recently identified after more than seven decades.

Private Mike McDowell, a member of a unit often referred to as Merrill's Marauders, was reported killed in action during the Battle of Myitkyina in Burma. McDowell, of Kentucky, was killed in action on July 29, 1944, at the age of 19.

The governor ordered flags on all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset July 29 in honor of McDowell and encourages others throughout Kentucky to follow suit. A repatriation service for Private McDowell will be held at 10:30 a.m. on July 29 at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff.

McDowell's remains were never identified, and he was declared non-recoverable in April 1952. However, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified McDowell's remains on Jan. 29, 2026. In 2018, officials began a project to exhume remains from the Battle of Myitkyina. Some of these unknowns were transferred to a laboratory for further analysis in 2021, where McDowell was later identified using modern forensic techniques.

About 307,000 Kentuckians served in the military during World War II, and an estimated 8,000 died in combat and 14,000 were wounded.