Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of Sgt. Dominick J. Licari, 31, of Frankfort, N.Y., an airman who had been missing in action since World War II, announced the Pentagon. His burial took place with full military honors on Aug. 6 in Frankfort, reported the Utica Observer-Dispatch. Licari was a crew member of an A-20G Havoc bomber that crashed in the mountains of Papua New Guinea on March 13, 1944, after attacking Japanese targets, according to the Pentagon’s Aug. 2 release. Investigators excavated the crash site, recovering Licari’sremains, along with those of his crewmate, 2nd Lt. Valorie L. Pollard, states the release. DOD scientists used circumstantial evidence and forensic means like dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA to help identify Licari.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…


