WASHINGTON D.C. (WWJ) - It's been almost 80 years since Ecorse native and U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Peter A. Timpo, 24, was last seen before the aircraft he served on was hit by enemy fire above Romania during WWII.
But after almost 80 years, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on Wednesday that Timpo was successfully accounted for and will now begin his journey home.
According to the agency, Timpo's military service led to his assignment with 343rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force on the European theater of World War II.
The Downriver airman served as a bombardier -- or bomb aimer, who is a member of a bomber aircraft that is responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs -- aboard a B-24 Liberator nicknamed "Four Eyes" and "Damfino", his military record states.
Almost two years after the U.S. entered WWII, Four Eyes took part in the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries in Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romaina, known as Operation TIDAL WAVE.
The industrial area was estimated by Allied intelligence to produce as much as one third of Germany's liquid fuel requirements and was one of the most heavily defended targets in all of Europe, Dr. Roger Miller, Historian with the Air Force Historical Support Division, explained.
The plan for Operation TIDAL WAVE was to conduct a low-level massed raid on the nine most important Ploesti refineries, which Miller pointed out was the exact opposite of USAFF bombing policy at the time that preferred high-altitude, precision, daylight, massed bombing.
Nonetheless, the Allied force, including the crew of Four Eyes, took off from Benghazi, Libya on Aug. 1. 1941, as a single formation, but the mission didn't go as planned almost from the start. The force was separated into two parts while flying over the Mediterranean and radio silence complicated efforts to regroup, Miller added.
The result was an air raid mission that struck different areas at different times negating the effects of a single mass attack.
During the operation, DAPP said Timpo's aircraft Four Eyes was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed, as many bombers did over fields and in water. Those that managed to fly out of the area were able to make it to Allied bases in the region while other aircraft tried to find sanctuary in neutral Turkey.
Air Force historians say only about 88 B-24s, all badly damaged, made it back to Benghazi. Despite their heroism, Miller said the Allied operation only managed to temporarily damage the refineries. The Germans were more than capable of making repairs and quickly restored production within a few months.
"Personnel losses included 310 airmen killed, 108 captured, and 78 interned in Turkey," Miller stated. "The U.S. Army Air Forces never again attempted a low level mission against German air defenses."
After the operation, the mother of Timpo's fellow airman believed the crew of Four Eyes was being held by the Russians, the Daily Dispatch out of Ill. reported.
"Mrs. Ida Reitz of Compton, Calif., whose son was aboard the plane, said she heard that 500 prisoners were led on a march after Russians took over a P.O.W. (Prisoner of War) camp in Rumania and never heard from again."
The War Department had originally reported the crew of Four Eyes as Killed in Action, but changed the notices to Missing in Action.
DAPP said Timpo's long road back to American soil began when his remains could not be identified at the time of his death and were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the end of WWII, DAPP said the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification.
"The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium," DAPP added.
Timpo remained in Europe until 2017, when DPAA said it began "exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses."
The remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
"To identify Timpo’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis," DAPP explained. "Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis."
The 24-year-old was then positively identified, allowing DAPP to cross one more name off their list of POW/MIA missing and bringing closure to Timpo’s story.
"Timpo's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII," DAPP said. "A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for."
Timpo is due to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on a date that has yet to be determined.