WWII soldier from Cleveland identified 80 years after crash
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has now accounted for a Cleveland soldier killed during World War II. According to an announcement, U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum, 22, was officially accounted for on Dec. 10, 2024. His family received a briefing on the identification process, allowing for the release of further details.
McCollum served in the 565th Bombardment Squadron, part of the 389th Bombardment Group, during the European Theater in June 1944. On June 20, he was the bombardier on a B-24J 'Liberator' bomber that went missing after crashing into the Baltic Sea near Denmark. The crash occurred when McCollum's plane collided with another B-24 in the same formation. While the pilot and co-pilot managed to bail out and survive, it is believed that the rest of the crew perished in the incident.
The U.S. War Department declared McCollum dead on June 21, 1945.
In early 1948, the American Graves Registration Command investigated the crash but was unable to recover any of the missing crew members. Over the years, the AGRC assessed unidentified remains that washed ashore in the crash area but could not identify any of the crew. McCollum was declared non-recoverable on May 12, 1950.
In 2019, Danish divers discovered a WWII-era aircraft wreck in the vicinity of McCollum's crash site. They recovered a .50 caliber machine gun with a serial number that partially matched the guns on McCollum's aircraft. In August 2021, after the Royal Danish Navy cleared the site of unexploded ordnance, a team from the University of Delaware and the Royal Danish Navy conducted an underwater survey. This survey uncovered possible human remains and prompted an archaeological excavation.
From Sept. 21 to Oct. 11, 2022, a team including Trident Archäologie and Wessex Archaeology recovered remains and material evidence from the site, including ID tags of two crew members. More work took place from Sept. 4-23, 2023, and May 18 to June 9, 2024, leading to additional findings. All evidence was sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To confirm McCollum's identity, scientists employed dental and anthropological analysis, along with mitochondrial and autosomal DNA testing. McCollum's name is inscribed on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery in England. A rosette will be placed next to his name to signify his accounting. McCollum will be buried in San Jose, California, on a future date.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Cleveland soldier killed in WWII officially accounted for
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