thedrifter
02-05-06, 01:43 PM
WWII airman's remains identified
USA
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Remains found in the California mountains last fall are those of an airman from Minnesota whose plane went missing during World War II, relatives said Saturday.
The U.S. Department of Defense determined the remains are those of Leo Mustonen, who was 22 when the plane he was in crashed 64 years ago in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the airman's nieces Leane Mustonen Ross and Ona Lea Mustonen told CNN.
Marjorie Freeman, a family friend, told The Associated Press that she spoke with the airman's relatives after they were notified by defense officials earlier this week.
Leane Mustonen Ross, who lives in Florida, did not return phone calls left Saturday. A phone number could not be found for Ona Lea Mustonen.
Last October, authorities recovered a well-preserved body encased in ice in Kings Canyon National Park. Military anthropologists narrowed their options to four men who flew out of Sacramento's Mather Field the night the plane disappeared: Mustonen, of Brainerd, Minn.; pilot William Gamber, 23, of Ohio; and aviation Cadets Ernest Munn, 23, of Ohio; and John Mortenson, 25, of Idaho.
Leo Mustonen joined the war effort in 1942. He was on an AT-7 navigational training plane when it vanished after leaving on a routine flight Nov. 18 that year.
Five years later, after an engine, scattered remains and clothing were found far from the plane's intended course, the cadets and the pilot were given a ceremonial burial.
USA
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Remains found in the California mountains last fall are those of an airman from Minnesota whose plane went missing during World War II, relatives said Saturday.
The U.S. Department of Defense determined the remains are those of Leo Mustonen, who was 22 when the plane he was in crashed 64 years ago in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the airman's nieces Leane Mustonen Ross and Ona Lea Mustonen told CNN.
Marjorie Freeman, a family friend, told The Associated Press that she spoke with the airman's relatives after they were notified by defense officials earlier this week.
Leane Mustonen Ross, who lives in Florida, did not return phone calls left Saturday. A phone number could not be found for Ona Lea Mustonen.
Last October, authorities recovered a well-preserved body encased in ice in Kings Canyon National Park. Military anthropologists narrowed their options to four men who flew out of Sacramento's Mather Field the night the plane disappeared: Mustonen, of Brainerd, Minn.; pilot William Gamber, 23, of Ohio; and aviation Cadets Ernest Munn, 23, of Ohio; and John Mortenson, 25, of Idaho.
Leo Mustonen joined the war effort in 1942. He was on an AT-7 navigational training plane when it vanished after leaving on a routine flight Nov. 18 that year.
Five years later, after an engine, scattered remains and clothing were found far from the plane's intended course, the cadets and the pilot were given a ceremonial burial.