Free Republic

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...

the Pentagon announced Friday that the remains of 10 airmen missing in action from World War II will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. The Department of Defense said in a news release that the crew was on a bombing mission over Berlin in April 1944 when their B-24J Liberator aircraft crashed near East Meitze, Germany. There were no survivors. The crash site was located in 2003 and human remains were turned over to U.S. officials. Additional remains, as well as metal ID tags and a class ring, were gathered over the next few...

SIERRA VISTA - Sixty years ago today, Dennis C. Jones was relaxing. He had taken a shower, shaved and eaten. It was Armistice Day - as today's Veterans Day is called. But for Jones - Casey to his friends - Nov. 11, 1944, was far from idyllic. There was no armistice the day Jones took a break on Panay Island in the Philippines. The area was still under Japanese control as he and a few other airmen made their way up the island - a 35-day trip - to where they would board a submarine to be taken to Australia....