Wed, Dec 31, 2014
Went Down Following Engine Malfunction Aboard His P-38J Lightning
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, lost during World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Air Forces Maj. Peyton S. Mathis, Jr., 28, of Montgomery, AL will be buried Jan. 3, 2015, in his hometown. On June 5, 1944, Mathis was the pilot of a P-38J Lightning on a bombing mission on Japanese gun positions in the Shortland-Poporang area of the northern Solomons Islands. En route Mathis lost power in his right engine. At approximately the same time the mission was canceled. Mathis crashed while attempting to land at Kukum Air Field on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands. A rescue team located the crash site the same day, but was unable to recover Mathis because the aircraft was submerged in water in a dense jungle swamp.
In 1949, an Army Graves Registration Company searched for Mathis’ P-38J, but was
unable to locate it. He was subsequently declared nonrecoverable. In 2012, while surveying another crash site, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was led by local individuals to another crash site. JPAC surveyed the area and in 2013 JPAC excavated the site. While there in 2013 the team took possession of additional remains that were in custody of the local police department. These additional remains were reported as being found by local villagers prior to the team’s arrival to excavate the site.
To identify Mathis’ remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, to include dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA, which matched Mathis’ maternal-line cousin.
(U.S. Army Air Corps image)
More News
DETRESFA (Distress Phrase) The code word used to designate an emergency phase wherein there is reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grave and i>[...]
"General aviation is at the forefront of developing and introducing innovative technologies that will transform the entire aviation industry..." Source: Kyle Martin, Vice President>[...]
Direct Straight line flight between two navigational aids, fixes, points, or any combination thereof. When used by pilots in describing off-airway routes, points defining direct ro>[...]
Aero Linx: Women in Corporate Aviation Women in Corporate Aviation support individuals seeking career advancement and professional development in the business aviation industry. Me>[...]
“We would like to thank the many volunteers that help throughout the year to pull off the event, as well as the several reviewers, judges, and SURVICE staff that provide team>[...]