Finally coming home: Remains of missing World War II serviceman returning to family

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The remains of a U.S. serviceman missing from World War II have been accounted for and will finally be returned to his family.

Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Marvin B. Rothman, of Cleveland Heights, was 21 when he was assigned to the 311th Fighter Squadron, 58th Fighter Squadron Group on April 11, 1944.

He was the pilot of a single-seat P-47D Thunderbolt on a bombing escort mission with 15 other Thunderbolts to Wewak, Territory of New Guinea, when he was attacked by an enemy fighter aircraft.

When the escort flight returned from the mission, Rothman and two other pilots were reported missing, according to a release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The War Department declared Rothman deceased as of Feb. 6, 1946.

In September 1946, a U.S. infantry officer informed the American Graves Registration Service in New Guinea that an Australian War Graves team had recovered the remains of a suspected American airman. They'd found the wreckage of an aircraft with a partial serial number matching that of Rothman's plane.

In November 1946, AGRS personnel tried to confirm his identity based on dental records. But the dental charts were incomplete, and an ID could not be established.

Based on the lack of evidence, an AGRS board declared Rothman to be non-recoverable in January 1950.

Then, in July 2004, a contractor for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command investigated a crash site found by residents in a New Guinea village. They also found the plate matching the serial number of Rothman's plane.

A U.S. recovery team returned to the site in August 2009 and recovered possible human remains and other artifacts.

Scientists were able to use anthropological and circumstantial evidence along with dental analysis, which then matched Rothman's records.

Rothman's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery along with other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will also be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Rothman will be buried April 19 with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

Welcome home sir!

Weird!!!

From yesterday's St. Louis Post Dispatch, gotta love these kind of stories!

Goes to show you never know what might occur, even after decades.  :wub:

Bones found near wreckage of US bomber in Croatia

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Divers have located human bones near the wreckage of a U.S. bomber that crashed in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia in 1944.

The discovery was made last week at the site of the crash of The Tulsamerican, the last B-24 Liberator bomber built in Tulsa, Oklahoma, near the end of World War II, according to Croatia's state TV.

"The remains of human bones have been found, but we can't say anything without further analysis," Zadar University archaeologist Mate Parica said.

Tomo Medved, who heads Croatia's ministry for war veterans, said the U.S. is still looking for some 200 Americans who perished in Croatia during WWII. Croatia was run by a Nazi puppet regime during the war. Medved pledged the country's cooperation.

"We will launch the procedure to sign an agreement between our countries so that we would find the remains of some 200 people that the United States is searching for in the territory of the Republic of Croatia," he said.

The plane was hit after a bombing run over German-occupied Poland. It crashed into the Adriatic Sea on Dec. 17, 1944. The crew apparently tried to get the plane back to its base in Italy, but they eventually decided to ditch it in the Adriatic.

Just came across these great colorized photos from WWII on youtube, think you will enjoy them as much as I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G6CVm6HMFE

Thanks for posting. Always wonderful to see images we haven't seen before. However I have to agree with several who posted, what the heck were they thinking with the fancy font? Yikes. Guess someone wanted to make a statement, but the images are enough. A simple Arial or similar would have made it easier on the eyes. 🙂

USS Indianapolis discovered 18,000 feet below Pacific surface

It's been 72 years since the USS Indianapolis went missing after a Japanese submarine torpedoed it in the final days of World War II.

A team of civilian researchers led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen discovered the cruiser's wreckage Friday on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 18,000 feet below the surface. The discovery brings a measure of closure to one of most tragic maritime disasters in US naval history.

"To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling," Allen said.

"As Americans, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the crew for their courage, persistence and sacrifice in the face of horrendous circumstances. While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming."

The Indianapolis sank in 12 minutes, making it impossible for it to send a distress signal or deploy life-saving equipment. Before the attack, on July 30, 1945, it had just completed a secret mission delivering components of the atomic bomb used in Hiroshima that brought an end to the war in the Pacific, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington.

Most of the ship's 1,196 sailors and Marines survived the sinking only to succumb to exposure, dehydration, drowning and shark attacks. Only 316 survived, according to the US Navy. Of the survivors, 22 are alive today.

'Lost in a sea of tears'

Michael William Emery, named after his uncle William Friend Emery, who perished in the sinking, said he was in shock that the wreckage had been found.

"I am filled with so much emotion. Part of me wanted the Indy to be found, part of me did not want it to be found. Memories of nightmares I had as a child trying to rescue my uncle and namesake William Friend Emery off of his ship are overwhelming me now," he said in quotes provided by Sara Vladic, a spokeswoman for a network of survivors.

Emery said he was thinking about those who loved his uncle and had passed before the ship's discovery: "After 72 years, the Indy might've finally been found, but I'm still lost in a sea of tears."

Earl O'Dell Henry Jr., son of Lt. Cmdr. Earl O'Dell Henry, who was the Indianapolis's dentist, said his family regarded the ship as his father's burial site.

"My reaction was just an overwhelming numbness, followed by deep sobbing and crying. This despite I have anticipated the possibility of this news for some time. My wife and I both started crying uncontrollably. While shaving, I noticed that my eyes were the reddest I have ever seen them. I don't think I have cried this hard in my adult life," he said.

He said the ship's finding would have broken his mother's heart.

"My mother would be torn to pieces if she were still living. She did not want them to ever find the ship, partially because she thought the ship would be disturbed (which I do not think will happen). But I am glad she does not have to cry today," he said.

Barb and Dave Stamm -- relatives of sinking survivor Florian Stamm -- said they were happy to hear of the discovery.

"The spirit of the Indy is awake and will be memorialized forever. Those 'Lost at Sea' have been found," they said.

Efforts to find the wreck

"Even in the worst defeats and disasters there is valor and sacrifice that deserves to never be forgotten," Sam Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, said. "They can serve as inspiration to current and future sailors enduring situations of mortal peril. There are also lessons learned, and in the case of the Indianapolis, lessons re-learned, that need to be preserved and passed on, so the same mistakes can be prevented, and lives saved."

Others have tried to locate the Indianapolis before. The wreck was located by the expedition crew of Allen's Research Vessel Petrel, a 250-foot vessel equipped with state-of-the-art equipment capable of diving to 6,000 meters, or 3 1/2 miles.

The 13-person team will continue to survey the site and tour of the wreckage in compliance with relevant US law for searching war graves.

Research surfaced in 2016 that led to a new search area to the west of the original presumed position. Richard Hulver, a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command, identified a naval landing craft that recorded a sighting of Indianapolis hours before it was hit. The information led the research team to a new position and estimated search area for Allen's team.

Allen has had another search success. In 2015, after an eight-year hunt, his team of researchers found the Japanese battleship Musashi in the Philippines' Sibuyan Sea.

It's amazing what keeps turning up after decades and decades. We see that all the time here on the forum. 

The remains of a St. Louis-born man who was listed as missing in action after a battle in the Netherlands during World War II will be heading to central Illinois for burial Wednesday.

The remains of Army Staff Sgt. Michael Aiello will arrive in St. Louis a little after 3 p.m., according to PJ Staab II of Staab Funeral Home in Springfield. There will then be a procession up Interstate 55 to the town of Sherman, Ill., where Aiello lived after moving from St. Louis as a child.

Aiello was born in 1909 in St. Louis. Three years later, his family moved to Sherman where he attended grade school. After finishing the eighth grade, Aiello became a coal miner at the age of 13.

Aiello’s family moved to Springfield in 1918. Aiello later owned and operated a restaurant in Springfield, but primarily worked as a coal miner until he entered the Army in 1942.

Within two years, Aiello advanced to the rank of staff sergeant and was assigned to a glider infantry regiment. He was involved in the D-Day Invasion and later in 1944 his unit was assigned to Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.

Operation Market Garden called for glider and airborne troops to seize bridges in the Netherlands and hold them until British armor units arrived. The operation, portrayed in a book and the 1977 movie “A Bridge Too Far,” failed.

Military records indicate Aiello went missing Sept. 30, 1944, during fighting near the bridge at Nijmegen. While no remains were officially identified as his, the military issued a presumptive finding of death a year later.

Aiello was 35 when he went missing. About eight years ago, the military disinterred a set of remains that were later identified as Aiello. Relatives in the Springfield area provided DNA samples to confirm the identity.

Aiello will be buried at Camp Butler Cemetery at 10 a.m. Saturday. The ceremony at the cemetery is open to the public.

I was curious to know which unit this soldier belonged since the article did not state it.. After a little cyber snooping I found he was a member of the 401st GIR, 101st Airborne Division.

Welcome home Staff Sergeant Aiello

Welcome home Staff Sergeant Aiello. Rest in peace.

Remains of Massachusetts airman lost in WWII identified

This undated photo released Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2017, by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, shows Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Richard M. Horwitz, of Brookline, Mass. Horwitz was one of 11 crew members on a B24 Liberator last seen after the Feb. 28, 1945 attack on a railroad bridge in Northern Italy during World War II. The agency said his remains, recovered in 2015, will be buried with full military honors on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in Boston. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency via AP)

BOSTON (AP) — The remains of a U.S. Army Air Forces officer who went missing after a bombing run over northern Italy in World War II are coming home.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says the remains of 2nd Lt. Richard M. Horwitz, of Brookline, will be buried Sunday in Boston with full military honors.

The 22-year-old Horwitz was one of 11 crew members on a B24 Liberator last seen after the Feb. 28, 1945 attack on a railroad bridge.

It was determined in 1948 it had crashed in the Adriatic Sea.

The wreckage was located by an Italian citizen off the coast of Grado, Italy in 2013, and remains were recovered in 2015.

Horwitz's remains were identified through historical evidence, dental and bone analysis and by comparing DNA to a relative.

Welcome home Sir

The DPAA ( http://www.dpaa.mil/ ) are really unsung heroes of our day. Every week I am hearing about US servicemen being returned to the US after being missing for 75 or more years. It is truly remarkable. I am glad that we in the US still have the will and desire to search for all of our missing servicemen.