World War II Airman’s Remains Identified

Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of an airman who had been missing in action since World War II. Army Air Forces SSgt. John E. Hogan, of West Plains, Mo., will be buried on Aug. 24 with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery, said Pentagon officials in an Aug. 22 release. Hogan and eight other crewmembers were on a B-17G Flying Fortress that crashed near Neustaedt-on-Werra, Germany, on Sept. 13, 1944. Only one crewman is known to have successfully parachuted out of the aircraft before it crashed. German forces buried the remaining eight crewmembers in a cemetery in Neustaedt. In 1991, a German grave digger discovered metal US military identification tags from three crewmembers. This led to DOD forensic scientists excavating the site in 2008 and recovering human remains and military equipment that made Hogan’s identification possible. In June, the remains of 2nd Lt. Emil T. Wasilewski, one of Hogan’s crewmates, were laid to rest in Arlington.