Five WWII Airmen Identified:

Pentagon analysts have identified the remains of five airmen missing in action from World War II, according to a May 2 release. They are: 1st Lt. Cecil W. Biggs, Teague, Tex.; 1st Lt. William L. Pearce, San Antonio; 2nd Lt. Thomas R. Yenner, Kingston, Pa.; TSgt. Russell W. Abendschoen, York, Pa.; and SSgt. George G. Herbst, Brooklyn. They crewed a C-47 Skytrain on Sept. 21, 1944, that crashed after delivering Polish paratroopers to a drop zone in Holland for Operation Market Garden. The Germans opened dykes to flood the area before a search for remains could begin; Dutch residents who returned to their homes the next year found the remains and buried them in a cemetery. A US Army team disinterred the remains and buried them as a group at a national cemetery in Kentucky. In 1994, a Dutch citizen located more remains and artifacts from the crash site that eventually came to US officials.