Group seeks return of World War II Rome veteran?s remains, seeks relatives of William Jones for DNA samples

Group seeks return of World War II Rome veteran?s remains, seeks relatives of William Jones for DNA samples

by Alan Riquelmy, staff writer Rn T.Com

Back Row, from left: Sgt. Nick Gavalas, tail gunner, MIA; Sgt. Charles Lamarca (not aboard 30 January, POW); Sgt Harvey Gann, Flight Engineer; Sgt. Harold Thompson, right waist gunner, MIA; Sgt. Gerald Herrington, ball turret gunner, MIA; Sgt. Given Grooms, nose gunner, MIA. Front Row: Lt. Pershing Hill, bombardier, MIA; Lt. Harry McGuire, navigator, MIA; Lt. Ben Kendall, pilot, KIA; Lt. Richard Pelkey, co-pilot (Pelkey was replaced for the 30 January mission by Lt. Fletcher Porter, KIA). (Contributed image)

slideshow

When the Germans downed William Jones? plane in 1944 over northern Italy, its location stayed unknown for a half century.

The recent discovery of the crash site for the 449th Bomb Group plane has a local group urging the government to bring home the Rome serviceman and spurred it to find Jones? living relatives for DNA samples.

?They?re our veterans over there,? said Mark Coffee, the historian with the 449th Bomb Group Association. ?It?s important we bring them home.?

Coffee?s group has scoured history records to learn about the Rome man who died while serving his country. They know in 1940 he lived in Rome and worked at a cotton mill. He joined the service after Pearl Harbor, ending up as a member of the Paul Harper crew with the 449th.

Williams found himself on Jan. 30, 1944, flying with the Kendall crew as a replacement for another man, Coffee said. Their mission was to attack German airfields in northern Italy.

The enemy shot down Williams? plane during that mission. One man survived. The other nine, including the 26-year-old Williams, perished.

?It was thought at the time the plane had exploded,? Coffee said.

But the plane hadn?t exploded; it sank into the mud after crashing.

The crash site was discovered in 2009, and Coffee said the U.S. Department of Defense is slated to recover it next year. His group now is searching for relatives of Jones, so it can collect DNA samples.

Anyone related to Jones or who knows a relative should contact Mary Crowley, the 449th Bomb Group Association?s secretary, at tcrow16@aol.com, Coffee said.

Kevin McGonigal, who becomes commander of the Shanklin-Attaway Post No. 5 American Legion this month, said it?s important that fallen servicemen are returned home.

One of the American Legion?s main goals is the repatriation of those who died during a war.

?It?s one of its core beliefs, because so many souls during World War I never returned home,? McGonigal said. ?Once they?re located, we want them back home, if that?s what the family?s desire is.?

Source: http://rn-t.com/bookmark/23065571

private practice deion sanders creutzfeldt jakob disease the lone ranger mad cow pennsylvania primary jerome simpson