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Show HILLTOP TIMES tit in1 H 5 U.S. Army Air Corps man missing from World War II identified Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office Public Affairs T he Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced recently that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, had been identified and would be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Capt. Jennings H. Mease, 36, of Greenville, S.C., was buried Sept. 30 in Salt Lake City. On April 24, 1943, Mease and four other U.S. servicemen were flying over the Himalayan mountains, from Yangkai, China, to their home base in Chabua, India, in their C-87 Liberator Express aircraft. After losing radio communications following take-off, the crew was never heard from again. Eleven aerial search missions were unable to locate the aircraft or crew due to intense snows on the mountains, at high altitudes, and dense jungle growth, at lower altitudes. Almost 60 years later, in 2003, an American citizen discovered the wreckage of the C-87 aircraft while trekking in the mountains near Chabua. He recovered the aircraft's identification plate, military equipment and human remains. The artifacts and remains were turned over to U.S. officials for analysis. Attempts to excavate the site are being negotiated with the Indian government. Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA — which matched that of Mease's cousins — in the identification of the remains. As part of the war effort against the Japanese, U.S. Army Air Forces cargo planes based in India continually airlifted critical supplies over the high mountain ranges that comprise the Himalayas — known as "The Hump" — in support of American airbases in China. The amount of materiel flown over the Himalayas was a logistical achievement unparalleled at the time. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, call 703-699-1169 or visit the DPMO Web site at www. dtic.mil/dpmo. Above, members of the Utah Army National Guard Funeral Honors hold a funeral service for U.S. Army Air Corps Capt. Jennings Mease whose remains were recently identified after being recovered in 2003. On April 24, 1943, Mease, of Greenville, S.C., and four other U.S. servicemen were flying over the Himalayan Mountains, from Yangkai, China, to their home base in Chabua, India, in their C-87 Liberator Express aircraft. After losing radio communications the crew was never heard from again. The wreckage was recovered in 2003, and after officially identifying the remains of Mease, they were returned to the family for a proper burial. Left, Jennings Mease Jr. holds the American flag during the services for his father at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Utah, on Sept. 30. Below, a member of the Utah Army National Guard Funeral Honors hands the American flag to Mease. SENIOR AIRMAN STACI MILLER/U.S. Air Force Below left, family members attend the service. Below, members of the Utah Army National Guard Funeral Honors practice handing off the American flag prior to the funeral service. Military families get early access to consignment event in Davis County Just Between Friends events happen twice a year, in 16 states across the country, with new locations being added all the time. These events are held once in the spring to prepare for warm weather and again in the fall to get ready for cooler weather needs. There's also the opportunity to volunteer at the sale so you can shop first. All volunteers and sellers get to shop early before the sale opens to the public. Military families also get in early, 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 20. The event is located at the Davis County Fairgrounds. The public may shop Friday and Saturday. Hours those days are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 21 and 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 22. For more information about the organization visit the website at www.jbfsale. com . Select "find a location" and click on "Layton." Defense Acquisition University 4 South announces graduate BY DONNA CASEY DAU - South D efense Acquisition University-South Region, Warner Robins, Ga., Campus would like to congratulate the PMT 352B Session 11-034 class on the successful completion of their four week course. Attendees from various bases with career fields in program management, system engineering, production, quality, manufacturing and test and evaluation were given scenario-based practical exercises with topical themes such as interoperability, prototyping, and evolutionary acquisition in a classroom setting. The Program Management Office Course, Part B, is the capstone course of the Level III certification in the program management career field. Over the past four weeks, the PMT 352B class participated in a series of 10 interconnected exercises to deepen and broaden acquisition and sustainment knowledge, hone team and interpersonal skills, and further develop critical thinking. One of the exercises, Dragonfly required the students to design and test an unmanned ground vehicle with various sensors, movement components and weapons in a simulated combat environment. This is an example of leveraging technology to enhance the classroom experience. Similar to life in a "real" program management office, the students grappled with an overabundance of requirements, too few resources and inadequate time. The following Hill AFB employee successfully completed PMT 352B 11-034 class: Maj. Louis "Lou" Ruscetta, Chief, CRC Sustainment Office. |