GOD Bless...
Posted on 08/21/2008 9:46:37 PM PDT by Stonewall Jackson
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is 2nd Lt. Howard C. Enoch Jr., US Army Air Forces, of Marion, KY. He will be buried on September 22 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Enoch's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate internment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
On March 19, 1945, Enoch was the pilot of a P-51D Mustang that crashed while engaging enemy aircraft about 20 miles east of Leipzig, near the village of Doberschutz, Germany. His remains were not recovered at the time, and Soviet occupation of eastern Germany precluded his recovery immediately after the war.
In 2004, a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) surveyed a possible P-51 crash site near Doberschutz. The team found aircraft wreckage. In 2006, another JPAC team excavated the site and recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Enoch's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.
Welcome home, Lt. Enoch. Thank you for your service to our nation.
A missing aviator has finally come home to rest.
Another American hero comes home.
Eternal rest...
God Bless Lt. Howard C. Enoch Jr and his family.
19 March 1945.. so close to the end of the war in the ETO.
Damn shame.
Condolences to 2nd Lt. Howard C. Enoch Jr.’s family and friends. America’s finest.
Welcome home, Lt. Enoch. God Bless you and your family.
GOD Bless...
There were still some German prop-driver squadrons still in operation at that time, but the main threat was from the new jets.
We won't forget all the fine young men and women that have served our nation honorably.
That late over Germany, perhaps a Ta-152 that JG 301 was operating.
Welcome home 2nd Lt. Howard C. Enoch Jr. Thank you for your service and much gratitude to your family for their sacrifice.
mrs
TA-152 [edit] Specifications (Ta 152 H-1) General characteristics Crew: One Length: 10.82 m (33 ft 11 in) Wingspan: 14.44 m (48 ft 6 in) Height: 3,36 m (13 ft 1in) Wing area: 23.5 m² (253 ft²) Empty weight: 4,031 kg (8,640 lb) Loaded weight: 4,625 kg (10,470 lb) Max takeoff weight: 5,217 () Powerplant: 1× Jumo 213E liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 1,287 kW (1,750 hp, 2050 hp with MW-50) Performance Maximum speed: 759 km/h at 12,500 m using GM-1 boost (472 mph at 41,000 ft using GM-1 boost) Range: 2,000 km (1,240 miles) Service ceiling 14,800 m using GM-1 boost (48,550 ft using GM-1 boost) Rate of climb: 19.2 m/s using MW-50 (3,445 ft/min) Wing loading: 202 kg/m² (41.4 lb/ft²) Power/mass: 0.276 kW/kg (0.167 hp/lb) Armament 1x MK 108 30 mm cannon 2x MG 151/20 20 mm cannons
And, of course, a very, very few Do 335s (Pfeil - "Arrow") - while twin-engine - were also operating.
The Smithsonian has both the Ta and the Do; and amazing the twin jet-powered Horten wing (although not yet scheduled for restoration).
Welcome home brother, rest in peace.
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