Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of Sgt. Dominick J. Licari, 31, of Frankfort, N.Y., an airman who had been missing in action since World War II, announced the Pentagon. His burial took place with full military honors on Aug. 6 in Frankfort, reported the Utica Observer-Dispatch. Licari was a crew member of an A-20G Havoc bomber that crashed in the mountains of Papua New Guinea on March 13, 1944, after attacking Japanese targets, according to the Pentagon’s Aug. 2 release. Investigators excavated the crash site, recovering Licari’sremains, along with those of his crewmate, 2nd Lt. Valorie L. Pollard, states the release. DOD scientists used circumstantial evidence and forensic means like dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA to help identify Licari.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
