DNA helps identify World War II pilot; remains arrived in Kansas City on Wednesday

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The remains of a World War II pilot arrived in Kansas City earlier this week after he was identified using advanced DNA techniques.

Courtesy of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

25-year-old Army Air Force 2nd Lt. John McLauchlen Jr. of Detroit, Michigan, was on a bombing mission near Burma in December 1943 when his B-24J aircraft was hit by enemy fire and presumed lost.

It took four years for the remains of the plane’s passengers to be found, but they could not be identified and were buried as unknown bodies at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.

In 2019, approximately 75 years after his plane was shot down, McLauchlen’s family members requested that the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhume his remains to identify them as McLauchlen’s property.

The results of further analysis of the remains clearly identified them as McLauchlen’s property in January 2024.

Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department

His remains were returned to the mainland and he arrived at Kansas City International Airport on Wednesday, July 3, thanks to a commercial aircraft.

As part of its arrival at KMCI, the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department performed a water salute as the plane taxied to the gate.

Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department

McLauchlen is scheduled to be buried this summer at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department

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