SAVANNAH, Ga. () – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has confirmed the identification of former U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes, Jr., age 22, from Savannah, Georgia, who lost his life during World War II.
Based on details from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Lt. Hymes served in June 1944 with the 565th Bombardment Squadron, part of the 389th Bombardment Group, under the 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, within the European Theater.
On June 20, Lt. Hymes, acting as the navigator on a B-24J “Liberator” bomber, went missing when the aircraft crashed into the Baltic Sea near Denmark following a collision with another B-24 in formation. While the pilot and co-pilot managed to parachute to safety, the incident’s evidence suggests the rest of the crew, including Hymes, did not survive the crash. Consequently, the U.S. War Department declared Hymes deceased on June 21, 1945.
In early 1948, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, investigated the crash, but was unable to find any of the missing crewmen.
Over the next couple of years, the AGRC also assessed unidentified remains that washed ashore in the area where Hymes’ aircraft crashed, but were not able to identify any of the crew. Hymes was declared non-recoverable on May 12, 1950.
In 2019, Danish divers alerted the Royal Danish Navy to a WWII-era aircraft wreck in the general area where Hymes’ aircraft crashed. A .50 caliber machine gun with a damaged serial number that partially matched the guns on Hymes’ aircraft was recovered.
In August 2021, after the Royal Danish Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal cleared the site of unexploded ordnance, DPAA partner University of Delaware, along with the Royal Danish Navy, returned to conduct an underwater survey. The survey found possible human remains as well as enough evidence to recommend the site for an archaeological excavation.
From Sept. 21, 2022 to June 9, 2024, DPAA primary partner Trident Archäologie, along with Wessex Archaeology and volunteers from Project Recover, and with stakeholders from the Royal Danish Navy and the Langelands Museum, returned to the site to conduct further operations, during which they found further material evidence and possible remains. That evidence was also accessioned into the DPAA laboratory.
To identify Hymes’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome DNA analysis.
Hymes’ name is recorded on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hymes will be buried in Thunderbolt, Georgia, on a date yet to be determined.
