Human remains salvaged from a World War II bomber crash nearly 80 years ago were confirmed to be those of a man from Greater Cincinnati.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release Wednesday that the remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Daniel Winstead Corson , who was from Middletown, Ohio, were accounted for on Sept. 22, 2023.
After being assigned to the 401st Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group, Corson went on to co-pilot a B-17F “Flying Fortress,” and executed a bombing raid on a German aircraft factory in the Nazi-occupied French village of Romilly-sur-Seine on Dec. 20, 1942.
However, the B-17 bomber – nicknamed “Danellen” after Corson’s parents, Dan and Nell, according to the Journal-News – was struck by anti-aircraft fire, which sent it spiraling toward the ground before it crashed near the village of Bernières-sur-Seine.
While one airman was able to escape with a parachute, Corson and seven other crew members stayed on board the aircraft and died in the crash.