Fallen C-46 Crew Will Receive Proper Burial, 62 Years Later

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Monday that two members of a four-man Army Air Force crew... missing in action since the days of World War II... have been identified, and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

The four are pilot Capt. Douglas R. Wight of Westfield, NJ; co-pilot 1st Lt. Herbert W. Evans of Rapid City SD; crew chief Cpl. John W. Hanlon of Arnett, OK; and radio operator Pfc. Gerald L. Rugers, Jr., of Tacoma, WA.

Evans and Rugers were individually identified... while group remains of all four will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 9.

On March 27, 1944, a C-46 (file photo of type, above) crewed by the four airmen departed a base in Kunming, China, on route to Sookerating, India, as part of the massive allied resupply missions over the Himalayan Mountains, referred to as the "Hump." While enroute, one of the crewmen called out for a bearing, suggesting the aircraft was lost.

There was no further communication with the crew. The aircraft never reached its destination, and searches during and following World War II failed to locate the crash site.

The story almost ended there... until 57 years later, in 2001, when officials from the People's Republic of China notified the US that the wreckage of an American WWII aircraft had been found on Meiduobai Mountain, in a remote area of Tibet. The following year, a joint US-Chinese team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated the site where they found human remains, aircraft debris and personal items related to the crew.

JPAC scientists and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory specialists used mitochondrial DNA as one of the forensic tools to help identify the remains. Laboratory analysis of dental remains also confirmed their identifications.

Thanks to efforts by DPMO, JPAC and the Chinese officials, four fallen crewmen will now receive their proper military burial... an honorable ending to the story.

FMI: www.dtic.mil/dpmo/