The Department of Defense has identified the remains of US Army Air Forces pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Eastman, of East Orange, N.J., whose aircraft went missing during a training flight in August 1944 in New Guinea, according to a March 24 release. Eastman departed Finschhafen, New Guinea, Aug. 18, 1944, on a test flight of his F-5E-2 aircraft, but never returned. Based on documents found in Australian archives, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command officials investigated a crash site in 2004 in the mountains of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The site was subsequently excavated in 2007, leading to the recovery of remains and personal effects that led to Eastman’s identification.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.