Remains of 3 U.S. airmen killed in WWII identified 82 years after their bomber crashed

Three airmen who died during a World War II bombing raid have been accounted for, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Thursday. 

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook, 23, U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Henry J. Carlin, 27, and U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Sidney Burke, 22, were carrying out a low-altitude bombing raid in Meiktila, Burma on August 3, 1943, the DPAA said. 

The mission was carried out with a B-25C “Mitchell” bomber. McCook was the plane’s pilot. Carlin was its navigator, and Burke was the armor-gunner. There were three other men also aboard the plane. B-25 bombers were among the most famous American planes used in World War II, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and were used in every combat area and extensively in the Pacific Theater. 

The plane crashed during the raid. Four of the airmen, including McCook, Carlin and Burke, were killed. The two surviving airmen were captured by Japanese forces. The DPAA did not say if the fourth airman who died in the crash or if the two men who were taken captive have been accounted for. 

McCook, Carlin and Burke’s remains were not recovered after World War II ended. All three were declared missing in action. More details about how the three mens’ remains were found and identified will be released once their families receive a full briefing, the DPAA said. 

About 70,000 U.S. service members remain unaccounted for from World War II.