Pilot killed in 1944 WWII bombing raid identified decades later as lieutenant from Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON - A World War II pilot who died nearly 70 years ago has been identified as a man from Pennsylvania. 

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which investigates and recovers American military personnel from past wars and conflicts, made the announcement Monday. 

The agency identified the soldier as 1st Lt. William B. Montgomery of Ford City, Pennsylvania. 

Officials say he was a member of the U.S. Army Air Forces who was killed at the age of 24 in June of 1944. 

Montgomery was flying a B-24H Liberator when the aircraft was struck in a German bombing raid near France, according to authorities. 

The young pilot managed to continue operating the plane to allow seven other airmen to parachute to safety while he and two other members remained on board, the agency says. The plane later crashed into a farm in England, according to agency officials. 

Montgomery was initially declared non-recoverable in May of 1950. 

For decades, the DPAA attempted to excavate the crash site and was finally successful in June 2021. 

DPAA scientists conducted an anthropological analysis and collected material evidence as scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial data to analyze the remains. 

Authorities say Montgomery's name is on the Wall of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in the United Kingdom, where a rosette will be placed by his name to indicate that his remains have been accounted for. 

Montgomery will now be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.