Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of three airmen missing in action since World War II, and officials are returning them to their families for burial with full military honors, announced the Pentagon. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William P. Cook, 27, of Alameda, Calif.; SSgt. Maurice J. Fevold, 21, of Chicago; and Sgt. Eric M. Honeyman, 21, of Alameda, Calif., went missing on Dec. 23, 1944, along with five other airmen, when enemy anti-aircraft fire brought down their B-26G Marauder near Seffern, Germany, near the border with Belgium, according to DOD’s Oct. 10 release. The airmen, who took off from Saint Quentin, France, were on a mission to bomb an enemy-held bridge in Eller, Germany. Fevold’s burial took place on Monday in Badger, Iowa. Cook’s interment is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Oakland, Calif. The date of Honeyman’s burial is still to be determined. Aviation researchers located the B-26 wreckage near Allmuthen, Belgium, in 2006. This led to DOD teams excavating the crash site in 2012 and 2013 and recovering human remains and material evidence, states the release.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.