FAST FACTS:
(Memphis, 5/31/2010) Leslie K. Roane says her grand uncle John C. Kelley's fighter plane was shot down in 1943 over Burma.
That was the start of a long road home.
"He was captured by the Japanese and taken as a prisoner of war, during the crash he received severe burns over most of his body and from those burns he died," said Roane.
After the war was over, his body was exhumed in a POW camp with 38 other bodies and they were placed on a plane headed back towards the US.
"It never arrived," added Roane. "It disappeared in a terrible storm and after many search and recovery efforts they could not find the plane, so they deemed it unrecoverable."
That was in 1946. Years went by with Kelley's family trying to trace down that plane.
63 years later, they got the answer for which they'd been looking.
Last November, a mountaineer named Clayton Kuhles found the plane while on an expedition in Burma.
The plane has been identified by the serial number.
Local villagers in Burma say they buried the bodies on the plane on a hillside right after the crash.
Now Roane and her family are working with the government to get her grand uncle's remains sent back to the United States.
"It would be a lengthy process though. JPAC which is a military organization is responsible for this type of effort and they would have to send a team," said Roane
It's a hard process that includes getting permission from the Burmese government.
But Roane says no matter what it takes, she is spending her Memorial Day working to get her granduncle's remains back to Tipton County for a proper burial.
Roane is launching a national effort that includes getting in touch with local law makers that are in Washington.
You can go to their website at johnckelley.wordpress.com to find out how to help.
- We remember those who have served our country and laid down their lives fighting for freedom
- Lt. John C. Kelley was a bombardier during World War II and was killed in a plane crash
- More than 60 years later, his family, like many others, is still trying to get their loved one's remains back home
(Memphis, 5/31/2010) Leslie K. Roane says her grand uncle John C. Kelley's fighter plane was shot down in 1943 over Burma.
That was the start of a long road home.
"He was captured by the Japanese and taken as a prisoner of war, during the crash he received severe burns over most of his body and from those burns he died," said Roane.
After the war was over, his body was exhumed in a POW camp with 38 other bodies and they were placed on a plane headed back towards the US.
"It never arrived," added Roane. "It disappeared in a terrible storm and after many search and recovery efforts they could not find the plane, so they deemed it unrecoverable."
That was in 1946. Years went by with Kelley's family trying to trace down that plane.
63 years later, they got the answer for which they'd been looking.
Last November, a mountaineer named Clayton Kuhles found the plane while on an expedition in Burma.
The plane has been identified by the serial number.
Local villagers in Burma say they buried the bodies on the plane on a hillside right after the crash.
Now Roane and her family are working with the government to get her grand uncle's remains sent back to the United States.
"It would be a lengthy process though. JPAC which is a military organization is responsible for this type of effort and they would have to send a team," said Roane
It's a hard process that includes getting permission from the Burmese government.
But Roane says no matter what it takes, she is spending her Memorial Day working to get her granduncle's remains back to Tipton County for a proper burial.
Roane is launching a national effort that includes getting in touch with local law makers that are in Washington.
You can go to their website at johnckelley.wordpress.com to find out how to help.
