It was a sunny afternoon, typical of the Italian lands, in July 1943. In the midst of the uncertainty of war, birds flew over the battlefields and the sky was clear, letting in the rays of the sun that were beginning to set to give way to the darkness of the night.
Between the blue of the sky an American B-25 Mitchell bomber was flying, in which the soldier was Gilbert Haldeen Myers as co-pilot. He, along with two more companions, were heading from Tunisia, Africa, to the Sciacca airfield, in Sicily, Italy, in order to bomb it.
(You may be interested in: The true story of Wilm Hosenfeld, the Nazi who saved ‘The Pianist’).
However, in full Second World War The alerts were active everywhere, which is why, when they were a few kilometers from the objective, they were attacked by anti-aircraft fire, which caused them to lose altitude and crash in a nearby field.
Upon touching land, the aircraft It was left in pieces and, according to witness testimonies, there was no survivor.
In search of eternal rest
Those who were on said aircraft were added to a list of missing persons that years later fell into the hands of a team of forensic scientists from Cranfield University, whose mission is to recover and identify at least 39,000 people on the list.
Why that figure? It is estimated that around 72,000 US personnel remain missing from the Second World War and only a little more than half could be found.
Gilbert Haldeen Myers in 1943.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Now, thanks to the efforts of scientists and painstaking excavations at the plane crash site, Cranfield University’s Conflict Recovery and Identification (CRICC) team worked in partnership with colleagues from the Accounting Agency. Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (DPAA) of the US Defense managed to find the human remains belonging to Myers, the 27-year-old who left everything in Pittsburgh and died in the middle of the conflict.
The discovery occurred in October, when experts managed to confirm his identity through DNA tests.
According to the popular science magazine PhysDoctor David Errickson, Senior Lecturer in Archeology and Anthropology at the Cranfield Forensic Institute, emphasized the challenges faced during the excavation in Sicily and the results that such effort has brought.
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Most importantly, it provides closure for families.
“This year our forensic team has participated in the investigation of several major aircraft crashes in Europe, including a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a Douglas A-20 Havoc, a Martin B-26 Marauder and an upcoming mission to the recovery site. a Boeing B-17, he explained, and then commented on the importance of this discovery for the soldier’s family.
“The recovery of the remains of Second Lieutenant Myers not only facilitates a proper and complete burial with military honors, but It also allows the family to receive the personal effects found. Most importantly, it provides closure for families.“he pointed out.
Myers is registered in the Walls of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery along with others who disappeared in the Second World War.
However, it is expected to soon place a mark on his name to indicate that he has already been found.
On the other hand, his remains were transferred to Florida and officially buried in Saint Petersburg this November 10, 2023.
Laura Natalia Bohórquez Roncancio
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