The efforts of an excavation team led by William Belcher, professor of anthropology in the School of Global Integrative Studies, have led to the identification of a deceased airman from World War II.
In conjunction with the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. John M. Larkins was accounted for June 13.
On June 26, 1944, Larkins was assigned to the 678th Bombardment Squadron, 444th Bombardment Group, Bomber Command when their B-29 Superfortress crashed in Sapekhati, India.
"This was an extremely difficult site to excavate due to the water saturated sediments that had to be processed and the extreme depth of the site—in excess of 4 meters," Belcher said.
His team is proud of the results, Belcher said, and pleased with the continued partnership with NFSU. The same teams previously identified three other missing U.S. airmen.
"We take pride in making a difference to a family that is still, despite the decades, grieving over the loss of their relatives and loved ones," he said. "I think we all have empathy for the missing, because we can relate to the family as we are all at some time in our lives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children and spouses, so we can related to the missing that could be in our lives."
Belcher's team includes University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Ella N. Axelrod and Katherine Krutak-Bickert, faculty member LuAnn Wandsnider, and Jay Petersen, retired from the Nebraska State Patrol. The team from India was led by Dr. Gargi Jani with NFSU students Nithiya Viji, Ahmed Irshad, Ahtul Ashok, and Abinndu Senthil. Additional support came from Dr. Koel Mukherjee of the Anthropological Survey of India and Oken Tayeng with Abor Country Expeditions.
The UNL team would like to express thanks for the support of the NFSU Vice Chancellor, Dr. J.M. Vyas; the NFSU Gandhinagar Campus Director, Professor Doctor S.O. Junare; the NFSU Delhi Campus Director, Professor Doctor Purvi Pokhariyal; UNL Executive Vice Chancellor, Dr. Mark Button; UNL Vice Chancellor of Institutional Strategy and External Relations, Josh Davis; and Global Safety and Security Director, Dave Long.
More details are available in the DPAA's ID announcement.
