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An archeological excavation in Sicily has uncovered the remains of a heavy American World War II bomber, which crashed in 1943.
The excavation lasts for six weeks and was carried out by a team from the Pentagon’s POW / MIA Defense Agency, which locates and identifies missing U.S. military personnel worldwide.
This site was identified in 2017 by investigators, using historical data and metal detectors.
This year’s excavations revealed the wreckage of a B-25 aircraft. Archaeologist Clive Vella, the scientific director of the expedition, stressed that “we owe it to the families of soldiers killed in the war, giving them accurate information.”
The U.S. B-25 Mitchell heavy bomber consisted of a crew of six and was one of 52 aircraft lost in the area during World War II, particularly during 1943 when Allied troops were being pushed into southeastern Sicily.
The plane crashed while trying to land on a German airstrip camouflaged between olive groves and pastures on July 10, 1943.
The crash was documented by a German military report, which stated that an American plane had crashed about two kilometers from Sciacca airport.
One of the crew members was immediately found and buried in the city cemetery. His body was later retrieved in 1944 by the U.S. military, but five other aircraft were not found.
“In the years that passed, the land in that area was used for the agricultural needs of the inhabitants, while the traces of this accident had almost disappeared.“, Said Vella.
The evidence, which includes bone fragments and wreckage of the aircraft, was sent to a laboratory in the US for analysis.
Worldwide, the U.S. has lost more than 81,600 people, including 72,350 from World War II, 7,550 from the Korean War, and 1,584 from the Vietnam War. Over 41 thousand people, out of the total number, are thought to have disappeared at sea.
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