Posted on 01/29/2015 1:55:12 PM PST by robowombat
World War II airman's remains coming home to Iowa
The remains of an Iowa serviceman are coming home, 66 years after he disappeared when his bomber was hit by German gunfire over Hungary. Staff Sgt. Marvin "Steiney" Steinford of Keystone was 22 when he bailed out of the damaged B-17 "Flying Fortress" on March 24, 1945, the military said Wednesday.
A memorial service has been set for 2 p.m. June 21 at Christ Episcopal Church in Cedar Rapids, to be followed by graveside services at Cedar Memorial Cemetery, also in Cedar Rapids.
Steinford's bomber was headed for Berlin when it was struck by German anti-aircraft fire between German and Soviet lines. No one knew what happened to him until 2004, when Hungarian officials notified their American counterparts that they had found remains that possibly included U.S. service members.
The remains, which included identification tags with Steinford's name, were found during excavation of a Soviet war memorial near the Hungarian city of Zirc.
According to a 2009 Des Moines Register story about the case, the pilot of his plane, 2nd Lt. Richard Rapelyea, and several other members of the crew survived and were held in a prisoner-of-war camp. Here's what Rapelyea told investigators about the crash after he was released:
"The entire crew bailed out. But I believe S/Sgt. Marvin Steinford, who was on his first mission with this crew, was killed by rifle fire while descending. We came down over German/Russian lines and soldiers of both sides shot at us as we came down in our chutes. I was not an eyewitness to his death. His place of burial is not known to me."
Steinford's niece, Shirley Moody of Dubuque, said Wednesday that the family didn't hear anything more until 2004.
"I think the best part was actually knowing what happened to him," she said of the discovery of his remains.
Moody was a young girl when her uncle went off to war. "All I remember was he was fun-loving. He was a fun guy, that's all," she said, adding that she also vaguely remembers the stress her family was under because of his service.
Moody said the family was warned in 2004 that it might take awhile to get his remains, but they didn't expect the process to take seven years. His widow, Rosella Runyan of Cedar Rapids, died last October at age 88.
U.S. military officials said negotiations were slowed by concerns about the commingling of remains from different countries. After years of negotiations and identification work, U.S. experts confirmed last year which remains belonged to Steinford.
According to a military news release, Steinford was born Aug. 29, 1922, the youngest son of Herman and Henrietta Steinford. He grew up in Keystone and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He deployed overseas in 1944 and was assigned to the 429th Bombardment Squadron, 2nd Bombardment Group, 15th U.S. Air Force.
He is survived by his daughter, Carol Ann Sansenbach of Cedar Rapids; four grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and one step-great-grandchild.
Could one have worse luck?
Iowa gave SSGT Steinford a fine farewell:
66 years later, Eastern Iowa airman laid to rest in Cedar Rapids
Vanessa MIller
APRIL 2, 2014 | 7:38 PM
Her father went missing during his service in World War II, and that’s basically all Carol Ann Sansenbach knew about Marvin J. Steinford.
So when government officials contacted her mother in 2005 to report finding what they believed to be his remains in a Soviet war memorial and grave site in Hungary, Sansenbach was stunned.
“I was in disbelief,” she said after her father’s life and military service were honored Tuesday with a memorial service at Christ Episcopal Church in Cedar Rapids followed by a 21-gun salute and rendition of “Taps” at the Cedar Memorial Cemetery.
A Boeing B-52 also roared over Steinford’s final resting place in honor of the man who friends remembered as an American hero on Tuesday. His family members, some united for the first time, raised their chins and covered their eyes in a pseudo salute to watch the massive aircraft pass over.
“It has been fun finally getting to meet some of his relatives,” Sansenbach said. “I didn’t know them before.”
The discovery of his remains has led Sansenbach to a wealth of information about Steinford, who was known by friends as “Steiney.” Born Aug. 29, 1922, Steinford grew up in Keystone before enlisting in the U.S. Army Corps, now known as the U.S. Air Force, in 1942.
He was deployed oversees in December 1944 and was on a bombing mission from Amendola, Italy to Berlin Germany on March 24, 1945, when he disappeared between Soviet and German lines in Hungary. The then 22-year-old serviceman had bailed out of a B-17 aircraft that had been damaged by German anti-aircraft fire.
He was considered missing in action for decades, until Hungarian authorities notified the United States Defense Attache in Budapest in November 2004 that the remains of what they believed was a U.S. serviceman had been found in the city of Zirc.
Crews were excavating a Soviet memorial and grave site so they could relocate it to the outskirts of town, when they unearthed a wooden coffin that looked different from the other Soviet coffins.
It took years for the government agencies to coordinate an exhumination of the site, and investigators confirmed the remains belonged to Steinford in July 2009. Steinford’s family members had learned in 2005 that his remains might have been found, and Sansenbach said Tuesday that it’s nice to finally give him a proper burial.
While waiting for his remains, Sansenbach said, she read investigative reports about his disappearance and learned a lot about the moments preceding his death. The question that remains, however, is who buried him and how he ended up in the dissimilar coffin.
“How did he end up in that box?” she said.
Sansenbach, who on Tuesday wore her mother’s locket containing a photo of her father, also has learned more about Steinford’s personal life as information has continued to emerge about his time in the military. One friend told her that he was artistic, for example.
“I always liked to draw,” she said. “I wondered where that came from.”
During the memorial service, which was attended by more than 100 people, Ed McGivern, who grew up with Steinford in Keystone, said he feels the discovery of his friend’s remains years later is “almost a miracle.”
“For those of us who believe in a higher being, it’s hard not to believe this his repatriation wasn’t meant to be,” McGivern said.
Sansenbach, who never got to meet her father, said Tuesday provided a lot of closure. Rev. Martha Rogers, who officiated the service, said it also provided encouragement to families still looking for their loved ones.
“This is a day of great hope,” she said.
With allies like the soviets...
Welcome home Sargent Steinford.
And I thank you for your service.
I always find these stories so touching - as they finally come home.
God bless him. He’s finally come home. Speaking of WW2 vets, I work in a nursing home and have made friends with
Jim’’. Jim is 91, has Alzheimer’s but say’s he served in the Army.I’ve seen a photo of him as a 19 or 20 year old Sergeant with the letter “T’’ under his stripes. I believe that stands for “technical’’. Jim’s memory isn’t very good owing to his Alzheimer’s and he can’t remember exactly what his unit and his job was.. What unit or job would a technical sergeant do? Would he have been in the US Army Air Force, artillery or an armored unit?
With the increase of technical skills needed in the Army, a new category of NCO was created. Known as technicians, these were men who needed to be paid more for specific skills, but did not need the command authorization of a higher rank. They were first authorized in January 1942. In September 1942 the rank stripes had a letter “T” on them to indicate there were a Technician. Long after the war these would turn into the “Specialist” ratings still in use today.
Technician ratings are not to be confused with the rank of the more traditional rank of technical sergeant. For command purposes technicians ranked just below the equivalent of their strips. A technician 3rd grade (Tech/3) ranked just below a staff sergeant when it came to giving orders.
Thanks for the info. My friend Jim says he was from Washington State, Walla Walla actually and I have a feeling he in was in the USAAF.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.