Latest news with #RobertT
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remains of WWII Airman welcomed home, will be buried in San Jose
The Brief 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum was 22 years old when he was killed. McCollum died after his bomber plane crashed into another plane off the Denmark coast. He will be laid to rest in San Jose where his family lives. SAN JOSE, Calif. - The remains of a missing World War II Airman were escorted home to San Jose this afternoon. His remains were discovered during an underwater excavation in Denmark where his plane was thought to have gone down. "There's really a sense of closure I never expected I'd ever have in my life," said Dale Bergman, McCollum's nephew. Second Lt. Robert T. McCollum is finally home. At San Jose Mineta International Airport, McCollum received a hero's welcome, a procession that included veterans, police and firefighters honoring his return. His nephew, Dale Bergman, is a Vietnam War veteran and came from Colorado for the ceremony held at Oak Hill Funeral Home. "Then to have them call us and tell us we have found his intact remains 80 years later, surviving a crash of his bomber, it's too much to believe, but it's real," said Bergman. What we know McCollum died on June 20, 1944, after his bomber plane collided with another bomber while flying over the Baltic Sea near Langeland Island, Denmark, according to the DPAA or the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. In 2019, Danish divers found the WWII-era wreckage and recovered his remains. Born in Ohio, McCollum is being laid to rest in San Jose near his only sister's children. "She learned he was, not when I was not even a month old, when she got the telegram, that he would not be recoverable. His plane went down when he was 22 years old. So, I never knew Robert. I just know the stories my mom told and my grandparents," said Sandy Bellou, McCollum's niece. The Patriot Guard Riders of Northern California participated in McCollum's homecoming. The group organizes repatriation missions like the one McCollum received on Thursday, helping families find closure. "Not all of us are vets, and you don't have to be in PGR, but we do it to respect the family, for the fallen. That's why we call him a brother. I've never met him, but he's a brother to me," said Steve Repetto, with Patriot Guard Riders. "When I was looking at his flight missions, he essentially flew over my hometown in the Netherlands and so that just warms the heart," said Henk Zantman, PGR assistant state captain. What's next The media was not allowed inside Oak Hill, where the ceremony was held. His family says they are having a private ceremony for McCollum next Saturday. The Source DPAA, Honoring Our Fallen, San Jose Mineta International Airport
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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@ 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 This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Cleveland soldier killed in WWII officially accounted for
