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Nearly eight decades after he disappeared in a World War II plane crash over Burma, the remains of a Pennsylvania airman have been identified, paving the way for the hero’s long-awaited burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
In the summer of 1943, U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Henry J. Carlin, a 27-year-old from Philadelphia, was among six crew members aboard a B-25C “Mitchell” bomber that went down during a low-altitude raid in Meiktila, Burma.
Carlin’s remains and those of three others on board were not recovered after the war, and they were declared missing in action.
A newspaper clipping shows the announcement of 1st Lt. Carlin’s death. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
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The other two surviving crew members were captured by Japanese forces, according to the report. It is unclear if they returned home.
The four heroes’ remains were buried in a common grave near Kyunpobin, Burma, without identification, and later recovered by the American Grave Registration Service in 1947.
Witnesses only described them as being from an “American crash,” complicating the identification process.
A newspaper clipping announced an award Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Carlin received before his death. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
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The bodies, listed as “unknowns” in Honolulu’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, were exhumed in 2022, after the Department of Defense approved the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s (DPAA) disinterment request.
To identify Carlin’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and radio isotope analysis. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA analysis to make a positive ID, which was confirmed April 16.
Bringing closure to a mystery that spanned generations, Carlin’s remains will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in May 2026.
Soldier pays respects at Arlington National Cemetery. (Vera Mandel via Shield Communications)
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Carlin’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in the Philippines, along with the others missing from WWII, according to the DPAA. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
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Carlin served as a navigator and was a member of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), 10th Air Force.