Remains of Missing World War II Airman Identified

The remains of 1st Lt. Ray F. Fletcher, an airman from Westborough, Mass., missing in action since 1944, have been identified and returned to his family, Defense Department officials announced Tuesday. He will be buried with full military honors on Friday in Burlington, Vt. Fletcher was among a crew of five that took off from Corsica on May 10, 1944, in a B-25C bomber on a routine courier mission across the island. The aircraft never reached its destination and was subsequently reported missing. In May 1989, Corsican authorities turned over human remains collected from a mountainous location on the island. The handover of more remains followed about 15 years later. A DOD team excavated the location in September 2005 and found additional human remains and crew-related equipment that led to Fletcher’s identification.