The Pentagon announced that its forensic scientists have identified the remains of SSgt. Marvin J. Steinford of Keystone, Iowa, an airman missing in action since March 1945. DOD officials returned Steinford’s remains to his family; his burial with full military honors was scheduled for Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Steinford bailed out of a B-17G Flying Fortress over Gic, Hungary, on March 24, 1945, after enemy anti-aircraft fire hit the aircraft during a bombing mission against Germany. Steinford was struck by small arms fire while parachuting into a firefight between Soviet and German forces. His body was last seen beside a German tank near Gic. DOD researchers visiting Hungary in 2003 began to uncover specific information related to Steinford’s case that led to an exhumation of remains in July 2009 that the forensic scientists identified as his. (See also Vinton Today report and Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier report.)
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…