U.S. to scour India jungles for lost WW2 planes, men
Wednesday 19 March 2008 at 09:44
by NC Sentinel
Reuters - USAU.S. to scour India jungles for lost WW2 planes, men
Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:33am EDT
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States will search for remains of several World War Two aircraft and airmen lost over the forested mountains of India's northeast, a U.S. commander said on Wednesday.
The U.S. military says it lost some 430 Americans in 90 planes in India while they were on missions to resupply China's besieged army in the city of Kunming, desperately trying to hold out against the invading Japanese during World War Two.
The wreckage of six U.S. planes have been found in the jungles of India's Arunachal Pradesh state, giving the U.S. Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Command (JPAC) a starting point for its first recovery mission in India.
JPAC's commander, Rear Admiral Donna L. Crisp, met Indian defense officials on Wednesday, and said she was hopeful of mounting the expedition before the snows set in this year.
"We go as a team into the areas to find the remains," said Crisp, adding the Indian military would also help with the search.
She also appealed to Indians in areas where the planes are believed to have crashed to report sightings of any wreckage.
If remains are recovered, the JPAC will conduct DNA tests on the bones to match them with records of the crewmen's relatives. All will be entitled to a burial with military honors at a National Cemetery if relatives wish.
The JPAC has run similar recovery operations in Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, China and several countries in Europe.
(Reporting by Krittivas Mukherjee; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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