Everett, WA —Decades of waiting have come to an end as U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Donal C. Aiken, a World War II hero, was officially accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) on May 5, 2023.
Assigned to the 678th Bombardment Squadron, 444th Bombardment Group, Sgt. Aiken’s fate was sealed on June 26, 1944, when the B-29 Superfortress he crewed crashed in Sapekhati, India after a bombing run over Japan. All 11 crew members lost their lives.
After a team recovered remains, seven sets were interred at a United States Military Cemetery in India. However, Sgt. Aiken remained unaccounted for, declared non-recoverable in 1948. A breakthrough came in 2014 when a Joint Field Activity located the crash site, leading to further excavations and the recovery of potential remains and wreckage.
Using meticulous scientific methods including mitochondrial DNA analysis, DPAA experts identified Sgt. Aiken’s remains. A final resting place in Madison, Tennessee awaits the brave airman, closing a poignant chapter of history that has spanned generations.
