Your uncle was a true American hero...The grief his passing caused is terrible...
Hopefully, because of the research your cousin did, he will be remembered, respected and honored...
Sad thing is: He replaced another pilot on that flight who’d gotten sick - that pilot survived the war.
We managed to locate his Purple Heart - which we didn’t know he’d even received. His widow had it - and, thankfully, passed it on to my family a few years ago before she died.
My cousin has it now - he has no heirs so I’m hoping he gives it to me or my brother so we can pass it down to our children.
I think my grandmother would have thrown it over the White House fence.