US airman shot down over Romania in WWII is accounted for
An airman from Massachusetts who was shot down over Romania during World War II has been accounted for
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An airman from Massachusetts who was shot down over Romania during World War II has been accounted for, the military said Wednesday.
U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Charles G. McMackin, 26, was accounted for in August 2020, according to a statement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, but the announcement was not made until Wednesday because his family was only recently briefed on the situation.
The agency said McMackin was from Boston but according to news clippings from the time of his death, he was from Revere, just north of Boston.
McMackin was the bombardier on a B-24 Liberator that participated in Operation Tidal Wave on Aug. 1, 1943, a massive bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, Romania, considered crucial to the Nazi war effort, according to the the agency.
His plane crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire, and his remains were not identified following the war. Remains of American personnel that could not be identified were buried in a cemetery in Romania and later moved to a cemetery in Belgium
The remains were exhumed in 2017 and sent to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
McMackin’s remains were identified using dental and anthropological analysis, as well as mitochondrial DNA analysis.
McMackin will be buried April 14 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
___
This story has been corrected to reflect that the remains were identified in August 2020, not August 2021, and that McMackin was from Revere, not Boston, according to news clippings from the time of this death.