Remains of WWII airman recovered from Sitka grave go to Omaha lab for identification

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency located the remains of a World War II airman in an unidentified grave at Sitka National Cemetery this summer and sent them to a government lab in Omaha, Nebraska, for forensic analysis, according to Alaska Airlines.

That analysis could determine the airman's identity and give his family answers, the airline said in a release Tuesday.

The agency was searching for two airmen believed buried in unidentified graves at the cemetery. Both were among those presumed lost during World War II after their Douglas C-53B Skytrooper went down in the Bering Sea. Only one of the two was located, the airline said.

The agency asked Alaska Airlines' Military, Veterans and Allies Business Resource Group for help moving equipment and personnel to Sitka. Hawaiian Airlines flew agency personnel and equipment from Honolulu to Seattle, and Alaska carried them on to Sitka.

Employees of both airlines handled the remains under Alaska's Fallen Soldier Program until they reached Omaha, the airline said. Employees created the program in 2011 to honor fallen U.S. service members during their final journey.

Agency briefing material lists five World War II unknown graves at Sitka. The agency defines an unknown as a believed-to-be U.S. service member recovered during or after a past conflict who was determined to be unidentifiable.

The agency says medical methods have identified more than half of single unknowns and more than 60% of groups of unknowns or commingled remains.