(TheConservativeSense.org) – Remains of a WWII Pilot that went missing in 1943 have been identified as 1st Lieutenant Charles George Reynolds. Reynolds was assigned to the 498th Bombardment Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. On November 7, 1943, Reynolds, along with other crew members, departed in a B-25 Mitchell aircraft enroute to a bombing mission near Wewak, New Guinea. The plane and crew never returned. The aircraft sustained heavy damage from enemy fire and was forced to make an emergency landing in Karau Lagoon in the Murik Lakes. At the time, recovery efforts were unsuccessful, and the crew was labeled as Missing in Action.
After the war, the American Graves Registration Service searched exhaustively for fallen American personnel around known crash sites and battle areas in New Guinea. They discovered remnants of a B-25 Mitchell and fragments of human remains that could not be identified. The remains were given alpha-numeric identification labels and placed at Fort McKinley Cemetery in Manilla.
More evidence was found by a recovery team in 2019. The team was working near Murik and discovered evidence that prompted the exhumation of the previously unidentified remains. A series of tests was performed on the remains including dental and mitochondrial DNA analysis and a positive identification was made. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency declared Charles G. Reynolds “accounted for” on July 18, 2023.
Reynolds was from Bridgeport, Ohio and was 24 years old when he was killed during WWII. He is survived by three nieces and nephews as well as several great and great-great nieces and nephews. He will be buried in Bridgeport, OH next to his parents.
A comment was left on Reynold’s obituary page by Darlene Carver, the wife of one of Reynold’s nephews. Carver said she has heard stories about “Uncle Chuck” since 1962. His sisters, including Carver’s mother-in-law spoke fondly about their brother as an “all around good guy”. Carver says the family is thankful for the closure and to be able to finally lay him to rest.
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