Airman Missing In Action From WWII is Identified

Airman Missing In Action From WWII is Identified
Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:40:00 -0500


U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/...eleaseid=11365
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact:
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or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1


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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1162-07
September 27, 2007


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Airman Missing In Action From WWII is Identified


The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office
(DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in
action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his
family for burial with full military honors.

He is 1st Lt. James W. Blose, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Sharpsville,
Pa. He will be buried Sept. 29 in Hermitage, Pa.

Representatives from the Army met with Blose's next-of-kin in her
hometown to explain the recovery and identification process and to
coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the
Army.

On April 22, 1942, Blose and another pilot, 2nd Lt. William S. Shaw,
departed Nausori, Airdrome, Viti Levu Island, Fiji, on an airborne alert
mission. Soon after takeoff, bad weather forced the pilots to fly below the
level of several mountaintops in the area and land their P-39D Airacobras at
Nandi Airdrome. Shaw successfully landed his plane, but Blose was not seen
or heard from again. Initial ground searches in the thick jungles and rugged
terrain were unsuccessful.

In late 2004, a Fiji citizen reported to a U.S. official in Fiji that
he located possible aircraft wreckage on Viti Levu Island. The official
visited the site and saw the wreckage bearing a data plate that correlated
to Blose's plane. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) investigated
the crash site in early 2005 and collected additional data plate
information.

In 2006, a JPAC team excavated the site and recovered human remains
and other items including a pilot's microphone electrical plug with Blose's
initials on it.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence,
scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of
Blose's remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to
account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ orcall (703) 699-1169.






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