Massachusetts

WWII Airman Remains to be Buried 74 Years After Crash

An American airman is being buried more than 70 years after he crashed on a Pacific island during World War II.

Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy Davis, of Peterborough, New Hampshire, was a gunner. He and a pilot were aboard an A-20G Havoc bomber on March 12, 1944, that failed to return after attacking enemy targets in New Guinea

Attempts to find the aircraft and crew were unsuccessful. Davis and 2nd Lt. Vernal Bird were declared dead in 1949.

In 2001, a crash site with pieces of wreckage was found in a remote area of Papua New Guinea. Recovered remains were identified as Bird's in 2013, and an excavation in 2016 turned up more remains that were confirmed as Davis.

He will be buried June 23 in Ashby, Massachusetts.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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