WWII Airman Missing In Action Returns Home
An airman missing in action from WWII has been identified and returned home to Denver.
Staff Sgt. John J. Bono, who was 28 at the time of his death, will be buried with full military honors on Dec. 2 at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Bono?s remains were flown into Denver International Airport on Tuesday morning. The Colorado Army National Guard Honor Guard escorted the remains off the plane and into a hearse.
Mary Jo Urban, Bono?s niece, and her family stood by during the emotional homecoming.
?It’s overwhelming. I just can’t believe it. People are so kind, so nice, so professional,? said Urban.
On Sept. 13 1944, Bono and eight other crew members were on a B-17G Flying Fortress that crashed near Neustaedt-on-the-Werra, Germany, according to the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office.
Only one of the crewmen is known to have successfully parachuted out of the aircraft before it crashed. The remaining eight crewmen were buried by German forces in mass graves.
In 1991, a German man who was digging a grave in the cemetery in Neustaedt discovered a metal U.S. military identification tag and notified officials.
The U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command was not able to gain access to the site until 2007 and in 2008 recovered human remains and ID tags from three of the crewmembers, including Bono.
To identify Bono?s remains, scientists from JPAC used forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, including dental comparisons. Scientists also used DNA from Bono?s niece and cousin.
?A year ago, we were contacted by the war department and said could we give DNA that they could put on record. Anytime anybody was found in the future, they?d have DNA,? said Urban.
In Oct. 2011, Urban got a call she never expected. Bono?s remains had been identified.
?I thought it was a hoax. I thought this doesn?t happen after this many years. I just figured he?d been buried some place and they?ll probably never find him,? she said.
Urban said after 67 years, her family has closure.
?It?s the last piece of the puzzle for our family,? said Urban.
The Army Colorado National Guard Honor Guard provides free funeral services and honorable transfers to all military men and women. For more information visit: http://co.ng.mil/public/funeralhonors/default.aspx
