Missing WWII Airman Officially Accounted for Nearly 80 Years After Plane Shot Down

Mar. 15, 2025

U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall.Photo:The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

A missing United States airman is finally accounted for nearly 80 years after his death during World War II, according to defense officials.

U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, of Leesburg, Fla., was killed during World War II at the age of 21,according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

However, Halls was not officially accounted for until July 13, 2023 — 79 years after he died.

Hall was deemed “non-recoverable” on March 1, 1951, following a search for his remains following the war, DPPA said.

Two sets of remains were found buried in Normandy American Cemetery that could be linked to Hall, according to the agency.

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In April 2018, the remains were disinterred and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory, where one set was eventually confirmed to belong to Hall. Scientists used anthropological and DNA analysis to identify the remains.

A rosette will now be placed next to Hall’s name at the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery in France “to indicate he has been accounted for,” DPAA said.

Hall was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron of the 44th Bombardment Group in the European Theater, according to the defense agency.

The DPPA has accounted formore than 1,500 missing soldierssince the efforts to locate them began in 1973, according to the agency’s website. More than 72,000 still remain missing.

source: people.com