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Seven Missing WWII Airmen Identified
U.S. Department of Defense ^ | July 02, 2010 | staff

Posted on 07/02/2010 2:52:10 PM PDT by gandalftb

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of seven servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Army Capt. Joseph M. Olbinski, Chicago; 1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld, Floral Park, N.Y.; 1st Lt. Robert M. Anderson, Millen, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz, Tyrone, Penn.; Pfc. Richard M. Dawson, Haynesville, Va.; Pvt. Robert L. Crane, Sacramento, Calif.; and Pvt. Fred G. Fagan, Piedmont, Ala., were identified and all are to be interred July 15 in Arlington National Cemetery.

On May 23, 1944, the men were aboard a C-47A Skytrain that departed Dinjan, India, on an airdrop mission to resupply Allied forces near Myitkyina, Burma. When the crew failed to return, air and ground searches found no evidence of the aircraft along the intended flight path.

In late 2002, a missionary provided U.S. officials a data plate from a C-47 crash site approximately 31 miles northwest of Myitkyina. In 2003, a Burmese citizen turned over human remains and identification tags for three of the crew members.

A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team excavated the crash site in 2003 and 2004, recovering additional remains and crew-related equipment—including an identification tag for Dawson.

(Excerpt) Read more at defense.gov ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: burma; wwii
On May 17, 1944, after a grueling 65-mile march over the 6,000-foot Kumon Mountain range (using mules for carrying supplies) to Myitkyina, approximately 1,300 remaining Merrill's Marauders of the original 2,750, attacked the Japanese at the Myitkyina airfield.

Six days later, these men flew one of the first resupply drops to the starving Marauders. They flew through vitually unmapped territory, constant low cloud obscurity and steep mountain ranges and valleys to land at the airport that was still heavily opposed by thousands of Japanese forces.

All of Merrill's Marauders received bronze stars, I hope these men do also. Welcome home warriors.

1 posted on 07/02/2010 2:52:12 PM PDT by gandalftb
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To: gandalftb
SOLDER REST GENTLY PRESSED
TO THE CALM MOTHER EARTHS
WAITING BREST
DUTY DONE LIKE THE SUN
GOING WEST

Photobucket

SEMPER FI, GOD BLESS

2 posted on 07/02/2010 3:02:33 PM PDT by Dubya (JESUS SAVES)
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Salute.


3 posted on 07/02/2010 3:22:43 PM PDT by Repeal The 17th (If November does not turn out well, then beware of December.)
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To: gandalftb
RIP...


4 posted on 07/02/2010 3:28:51 PM PDT by GreenLanternCorps ("Barack Obama" is Swahili for "Jimmy Carter".)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

ping


5 posted on 07/02/2010 3:49:13 PM PDT by stockpirate ("......When the government fears the people you have liberty." Thomas Jefferson)
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To: gandalftb

Welcome home.


6 posted on 07/02/2010 4:22:37 PM PDT by Oratam
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To: gandalftb

Your country didn’t forget you men. Welcome home.


7 posted on 07/02/2010 4:32:44 PM PDT by Ronald_Magnus
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To: GreenLanternCorps

48 stars? I remember flags like that...


8 posted on 07/02/2010 6:19:35 PM PDT by TXnMA ("Allah": Satan's current alias...)
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To: gandalftb
RIP and thank you men. May you rest in God’s eternal peace good and faithful soldiers.
9 posted on 07/03/2010 4:50:32 AM PDT by jmaroneps37 (Conservatism is truth. Liberalism is lies.)
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