ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The body of a 27-year-old WWll soldier who went missing in 1943 is back home in America just in time for Veteran's Day.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said they found the remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Gilbert H. Myers, 27, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 10, 2023.
"A lot of us had curiosity of what happened to him," Douglas Corey, relative, said.
According to that agency, in the summer of 1943, Myers was assigned to the 381st Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, in the Mediterranean Theater. On July 10, while serving as a co-pilot of a B-25 Mitchell, Myers’ aircraft was hit while conducting a bombing mission over Sicily, Italy.
Myers’ remains were not recovered, and he was subsequently declared missing in action.
In late 1944, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) researchers discovered that Italian residents of Sciacca found a body belonging to the B-25 pilot at a crash site. AGRS investigators at the time indicated that they found some remains of the wreckage but did not locate any remains.
Later, in 1947, investigators conducted search and recovery operations near Sciacca but were unable to locate anything linking back to Myers.
In 2021 and 2022, DPAA partnered with Cranfield University Recovery and Identification of Conflict Team, and they returned to Sciacca. There, they were able to recover additional plane wreckage pieces, as well as human remains from the crash site. These remains were sent to a laboratory where workers were able to connect them to Myers.
"I don't think that the remains were that deep, maybe two feet down. So, over the years, they've been covered up," Corey added.
A whopping 80 years later, Myers was brought home to American soil.
On Friday, Myers was buried at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery and given full military honors.
His family said this Veterans Day is for him
"I think that bringing him back to St. Petersburg, is full circle, and he’s going to be buried next to his brother," Corey added.
