Recovered body of World War II pilot to be buried in Michigan hometown

Elwood Bailey (WDIV)

Marine Corps Reserve 2nd Lt. Elwood R. Bailey's body was accounted for on Sept. 5, 2017, and will be buried in his hometown of Parma, just west of Jackson.

Bailey was killed during World War II at the age of 22. 

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On August 24, 1942, Bailey was piloting an F4F-4 Wildcat in aerial combat with Japanese Military Air Forces over Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, when he was shot down.

In October 1948, a board of review declared Bailey's remains to be non-recoverable.

His remains and crashed aircraft were found by a resident of the Solomon Islands in April 2015. Dental and anthropological analysis identified the body as Bailey's.

For more information on Elwood Bailey, visit the official website for the DPAA POW/MIA Accounting Agency here.

Currently there are 72,810 service members still unaccounted for from World War II.

U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.


 


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