PEORIA, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 21: An American flag waves in the wind on February 21, 2025 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA – The remains of a WWII airman from Philadelphia who was killed in action were identified nearly 80 years later.
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Henry J. Carlin, 27, was one of six aboard a B-25C bomber that crashed during a low-altitude bombing raid in Meiktila, Burma on Aug. 3, 1943.
Only two survived the crash and were taken prisoner by Japanese forces. The remains of Carline, and the three others killed in the crash, were never recovered after the war.
What we know:
Four remains from the plane crash were turned over to the American Grave Registration Service in 1947 from a common grave near Kyunpobin, Burma.
Witnesses told officials the remains came from an “American crash,” but they could not be identified at the time, and they were listed as “Unknowns” in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Over 70 years later, all four remains were identified after being exhumed from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific using lab analysis.
A rosette will now be placed next to Carlin’s name on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial to indicate that he has been accounted for.
What’s next:
Carlin’s remains will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in May 2026.
