World War II Airmen’s Remains Identified

Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of three airmen missing in action since World War II, and officials are returning them to their families for burial with full military honors, announced the Pentagon. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William P. Cook, 27, of Alameda, Calif.; SSgt. Maurice J. Fevold, 21, of Chicago; and Sgt. Eric M. Honeyman, 21, of Alameda, Calif., went missing on Dec. 23, 1944, along with five other airmen, when enemy anti-aircraft fire brought down their B-26G Marauder near Seffern, Germany, near the border with Belgium, according to DOD’s Oct. 10 release. The airmen, who took off from Saint Quentin, France, were on a mission to bomb an enemy-held bridge in Eller, Germany. Fevold’s burial took place on Monday in Badger, Iowa. Cook’s interment is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Oakland, Calif. The date of Honeyman’s burial is still to be determined. Aviation researchers located the B-26 wreckage near Allmuthen, Belgium, in 2006. This led to DOD teams excavating the crash site in 2012 and 2013 and recovering human remains and material evidence, states the release.