(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it recently found the remains of Army Air Forces Technical Sgt. Lawrence Reitz, a central Illinois native who was 22 years old when he was killed in World War II.
Reitz was among those fighting in Romania during the summer of 1943 as part of Operation Tidal Wave, which was the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries north of Bucharest.
The DOD said that On Aug. 1, 1943, Reitz's B-24 Liberator aircraft was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The Hoopseton, Ill., native's remains were not identified, and as such he was buried as an "Unknown" in the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
After the war, all of the American remains buried at the Bolovan Cemetery were recovered, but those who were still unidentified had their remains buried in Belgium.
That group included Reitz, until his remains were positively identified following a renewed identification effort, which started in 2017.
Reitz's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Italy, where he'll now have a rosette placed next to his name to signify that he's been accounted for.
He will be buried in Williamsport, Ind.
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