The Pentagon has identified the remains of two members of a four-person Army Air Forces crew that went missing in action on March 27, 1944, while trying to complete a C-46 resupply mission over the Himalayas. The two identified are 1st. Lt. Herbert W. Evans of Rapid City, S.D., and Pfc. Gerald L. Rugers, Jr. of Tacoma, Wash. Group remains of all four crew members—including Capt. Douglas R. Wight of Westfield, N.J., and Cpl. John W. Hanlon of Arnett, Okla.—will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. On the date they went missing, the last radio contact was the crew’s call for a bearing as their aircraft flew over the mountain range. In 2001, Chinese officials notified the US that wreckage of a World War II era aircraft had been discovered in a remote corner of Tibet, where investigators ultimately discovered remains and personal effects.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
