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FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Maj. Theodore E. Willhite, a Soldier killed during World War II, will be interred Aug. 7 at Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, Washington. Gaffney Funeral Home, Tacoma, Washington, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.
A native of Muscatine, Iowa, Willhite was assigned to the 724th Bombardment Squadron, 451st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean and European Theater of Operations. He was killed in action Mar 11, 1944, at age 26, after the B-24 “Liberator,” he was piloting was struck by anti-aircraft fire during a bombing raid on a German position near Toulon, France.
Willhite was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Sept. 19, 2023, after his remains were exhumed in 2019 from Rhone American Cemetery, Draguignan, France, for laboratory analysis and identification.
The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in the process of locating Family members of missing Soldiers from WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
The process begins with locating the Family member most closely related to the missing Soldier, known as the primary next of kin, followed by a request for Family reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.
Once a Soldier has been identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the PCRB notifies and briefs the Family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process including burial with full military honors.
For additional information about Maj. Willhite go to: https://dpaa.dod.afpims.mil/News-Stories/Press-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3646621/pilot-accounted-for-from-wwii-willhite-t/
Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490 and/or Gaffney Funeral Home, 253-572-6003.
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| Date Taken: | 08.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2024 09:38 |
| Story ID: | 477879 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Remains of World War II Soldier to be buried in Kent, Washington, by Fonda Bock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
