The DPAA, an agency of the Department of Defense, is in charge of locating US military personnel missing in action, estimated at more than 81,000 in 45 countries.
The United States is searching northeastern Germany for the remains of ten soldiers in a bomber shot by the Nazis during World War II, the Pentagon reported Thursday.
The plane, a B-24 bomber, was attacked on April 8, 1944 while returning from an operation involving about 200 US Air Force planes to bomb three factories in Germany.
The flight crew consisted of ten soldiers, including officers and sergeants, who reportedly died due to the fall of the aircraft.
“Bringing home the remains of those lost in action is America’s sacred duty,” said Capt. Jordan Smith, leader of a team of 25 people in charge of search operations, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
The Pentagon did not disclose the exact city in Germany where the remains were found, but explained that after World War II (1939-1945) Located in East Germany controlled by the Soviets, complicating access for the Americans.
Search operations began on August 1 at farmland where the plane crashed, a place found thanks to a magnetometer, which measures changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
A hole about two meters deep has been dug so far, but researchers believe it will last down seven meters to find the nose of the plane.
Among the recovered goods Currently there are uniforms, parachutes, life jackets, coins, watches, weapons, identification plates and airplane propellers.
Excavators had to remove the soil with extreme care because it was still there ammunition and explosives underground.
Once found, the remains of the soldiers will be taken from the US base in Ramstein, in Germany, to the Offutt Air Force Base, in Nebraska (USA), where the US Army has a forensic laboratory.
The DPAA, an agency of the Department of Defense, is in charge of locating US military personnel missing in action, estimated to be more than 81,000 in 45 countries.
