DOD has confirmed the identification of remains for two Army Air Forces airmen—2nd Lt. Robert H. Cameron of Elkhart, Ind., and Cpl. George E. Cunningham of Rich Hill, N.Y.—whose C-47 aircraft went down on Dec. 10, 1944, after it took off from New Guinea and ran into bad weather. A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team recovered the remains from a crash site excavation in Papua New Guinea in 2004. Remains of other aircrew members—2nd Lt. Stanley D. Campbell of Pioche, Nev., and Cpl. Carol A. Drain (no hometown listed)—had been recovered in 1979 and 1980.
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
