WWII Airmen Missing Since '43 Coming Home - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston

The remains 12 U.S. servicemen, including two Massachusetts men, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be buried with full military honors, the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office said Monday.The 12 airmen were last seen taking off from an airfield near Port Moresby, New Guinea, on Oct. 27, 1943, for a reconnaissance mission in their B-24D Liberator. The crew was never seen or heard from again.The remains of Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Martin P. Murray, 21, of Lowell, Mass.; and Staff Sgt. Frederick E. Harris, 23, of Medford, Mass., will be buried along with their crew mates at Arlington National Cemetery next month.Also identified were the remains of 1st Lt. Jack E. Volz, 21, of Indianapolis; 2nd Lt. Regis E. Dietz, 28, of Pittsburgh; 2nd Lt. Edward J. Lake, 25, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. William J. Shryock, 23, of Gary, Ind.; Tech. Sgt. Robert S. Wren, 25, of Seattle; Tech. Sgt. Hollis R. Smith, 22, of Cove, Ark.; Staff Sgt. Berthold A. Chastain, 27, Dalton, Ga.; Staff Sgt. Clyde L. Green, 24, Erie, Penn.; Staff Sgt. Claude A. Ray, 24, Coffeyville, Kan.; and Staff Sgt. Claude G. Tyler, 24, Landover, Md.The remains representing the entire crew will be buried as a group, in a single casket, on Aug. 4, the Department of Defense said. Eight of the airmen, including Murray, were identified and buried as individuals during previous ceremonies. Shryock, Green and Harris were also individually identified and will be interred individually at Arlington on the same day as the group interment.The remains, found in a remote area of Papua New Guinea, were not recovered until 2007, and were identified using DNA. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict, according to the Department of Defense.
WWII Airmen Missing Since '43 Coming Home - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston