The remains of a 22-year-old Topeka airman who went missing in World War II are being returned to his family for burial.
The Department of Defense announced this week that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Verne L. Gibb will be buried Wednesday in Leavenworth.
The Prisoners of War and Missing Personnel Office said Gibb was the pilot on a routine flight from Burma to India in unfavorable weather when the plane disappeared. All six people on board were declared dead.
Human remains were turned over to the U.S. in 2002. A Burmese national gave the remains a local priest, who gave them to an American school teacher in 2002. DNA from Gibb’s sister was used to identify the remains.
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Associated Press information from: The Topeka Capital-Journal
