On June 20, 1944, McCollum’s B-24J Liberator bomber collided mid-air with another B-24 while flying over the Baltic Sea off the Danish coast.2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum. Credit: DPAA
Posted on 03/07/2025 7:27:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv
After nearly 80 years, the remains of 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier who went missing in action during World War II, have been identified. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) officially confirmed McCollum’s identification on December 10, 2024, bringing long-awaited closure to his family.
McCollum, from Cleveland, Ohio, served in the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force...
In 2019, divers from Denmark discovered wreckage of a WWII plane near the last known location of McCollum’s plane, leading to a significant breakthrough. Among the items retrieved was a .50-caliber machine gun, its serial number partially matching that of McCollum’s aircraft, although it was partly damaged after years in the sea. Consequently, a multinational recovery operation was launched, involving Project Recover, the University of Delaware, Trident Archaeology, Wessex Archaeology, the Royal Danish Navy, and the Langelands Museum.
Underwater surveys and excavations took place between 2021 and 2024; unexploded ordnance was cleared from the site, the wreckage was mapped, and human remains, material evidence, and ID tags were recovered. DPAA scientists analyzed the recovered remains using dental and anthropological assessments, as well as mitochondrial and autosomal DNA testing, leading to McCollum’s official identification.
McCollum’s name has long been inscribed on the Wall of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in England, but now a rosette will be placed next to his name to signify that he has been identified and accounted for. Future plans are underway for his burial in San Jose, California; his family can now finally put him to rest with honor.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeologymag.com ...
On June 20, 1944, McCollum’s B-24J Liberator bomber collided mid-air with another B-24 while flying over the Baltic Sea off the Danish coast.2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum. Credit: DPAA
On June 20, 1944, McCollum's B-24J Liberator bomber collided mid-air with another B-24 while flying over the Baltic Sea off the Danish coast.Credit: U.S. Air Force photos / DPAA
Great man from a different time.
RIP Soldier and welcome home. thx for the post.
This story touches me, my late Father was a bombardier on a B-24 in the Army Air Forces in the Pacific Theater.
bttt
2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum,
Thank you for your sacrifice. Rest in peac
Early this morning I posted about a Korean War POW whose remains were finally identified after all this time. His hometown in North Carolina is giving him a hero's funeral tomorrow.
It is truly amazing that many who had been thought missing forever have come to be laid to rest where they deserve to be.
He was a soldier, not an “airman”.
Welcome home, fallen patriot...
R.I.P.
RIP
Welcome home 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum. Thank you for your service.
I salute you sir.
Yup, I’d saved out the body and link of the current article and forwarded it to someone (who didn’t post it) before I saw yours.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4302679/posts?page=3#3
RIP my Brother.
....hmmm....not sure about that....why shouldn’t he be called an airman...? jus’ askin’ ......
AIRMAN
“An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation’s armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designation, the male form of address also applies to women”
The U.S. Army Air Forces was the Army and known as soldiers.
The term soldier wasn’t replaced with “airman” until the 20th of February of 1950, it would have been more accurate and informative to use the word soldier for the Army soldier of WWII before the Air Force even existed.
The parts of the American Army that earned the fame and glory while dying by the 10s of thousands in some of the most deadly and valiant combat ever, were part of the Army, not the future Air Force.
Ronald Reagan was an officer in the horse cavalry for years, then in transportation and then the Army Air Forces, always a soldier.
Traditionally, even as far back as WWII, anyone who piloted a plane or was a member of an aircrew was called an airman no matter his service branch. So while he was a member of the U.S. Army Air Force and a soldier, he was also an airman.
He was an airman. Ask any of the fliers from WWII and they’ll proudly tell you they were airmen. Recognition of the Air Force in 1947 came about specifically because airmen knew they were not the same as ground pounders.
Colonel, USAF JAG (Ret)
The writer should have used the more accurate and informative word.
The Air Force was created in 1947 and the new military branch replaced “soldier” with “airman” in 1950, before that they were known as soldiers.
“20 February 1950
General Vandenberg directed that from this day forth, enlisted personnel of the Air Force will be called “Airmen” to distinguish them from “Soldiers” and “Sailors .” Formerly, Air Force enlisted personnel were still called “Soldiers.”
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.
