Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of Army Air Forces 1st Lt. James F. Gatlin, 25, of Jacksonville, Fla., an airman missing in action since 1944, announced the Pentagon. He was interred on Jan. 30 in Bushnell, Fla., in a ceremony with full military honors. On Dec. 23, 1944, Gatlin was co-pilot of a B-26C Marauder that crashed due to enemy fire near Bettenfeld. Germany, during a bombing mission against enemy forces near Ahrweiler, Germany, states DOD’s release. Gatlin and four other crew members died in the crash. A sixth crew member parachuted from the aircraft; German forces held him as a prisoner of war. Between 2011 and 2014, US recovery teams visited the crash site. Forensic identification tools, such as matching mitochondrial DNA with a family member, helped DOD to identify Gatlin’s remains. (See also Tampa Bay Times report.)
Brown: Air Force May Never ‘Slap the Table’ on ACE
Sept. 27, 2022
As the Air Force moves forward with its efforts to operationalize the concept of agile combat employment, leaders need to embrace an iterative approach that builds on itself, recognizing that ACE may never be fully complete, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 27.