The remains of seven airmen missing in action since World War II have been recovered and identified, the Defense Department announced July 2. They are scheduled for burial with full military honors on July 15 at Arlington National Cemetery. They are: Army Capt. Joseph M. Olbinski, Chicago; 1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld, Floral Park, N.Y.; 1st Lt. Robert M. Anderson, Millen, Ga.; TSgt. Clarence E. Frantz, Tyrone, Penn.; Pfc. Richard M. Dawson, Haynesville, Va.; Pvt. Robert L. Crane, Sacramento, Calif.; and Pvt. Fred G. Fagan, Piedmont, Ala. These men were aboard a C-47A transport that departed Dinjan, India, on May 23, 1944, on an airdrop mission to resupply allied forces near Myitkyina, Burma. The aircraft never returned. In 2003 and 2004, DOD officials excavated a crash site about 31 miles northwest of Myitkyina that led to the recovery of the remains. (DOD release)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.