The Pentagon has identified the remains of nine airmen who died when their B-24J Liberator crashed during a World War II mission. The Army Air Forces airmen are 1st Lt. David P. McMurray of Melrose, Mass.; 1st Lt. Raymond Pascual of Houston; 2nd Lt. Millard C. Wells Jr. of Paris, Ky.; TSgt. Leonard J. Ray of Upper Falls, Md.; TSgt. Hyman L. Stiglitz of Boston; SSgt. Robert L. Cotey of Vergennes, Vt.; SSgt. Francis E. Larrivee of Laconia, N.H.; SSgt. Robert J. Flood of Neelyton, Pa.; and SSgt. Walter O. Schlosser of Lake City, Mich. They flew from England to bomb a German aircraft factory, and their aircraft was last seen over the target. Captured records showed that the B-24 went down near Westeregeln, which would be in the Soviet Sector of post-war Germany. German citizens turned remains they discovered in 2001 and 2002 over to US officials. In 2003, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team excavated the crash site and recovered more remains, ID tags, and other evidence.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
