Remains of World War II aviator recovered and identified

HOUSTON — The remains of a military pilot from Texas missing since his plane was shot down in France during World War II have been recovered and identified.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Monday announced the remains are 22-year-old Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Ottaway B. Cornwell of Houston. Cornwell was accounted for on July 25.

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Cornwell in January 1944 was a member of the 4th Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, Twelfth (XII) Air Force. He was piloting a Supermarine Spitfire when the aircraft was shot down over Pierrefeu-du-Var, France, during a battle with a German plane.

A French researcher in October 2016 contacted U.S. authorities about a possible aircraft crash site near his home in that village. Cornwell’s remains were positively identified this year using DNA and dental analysis.

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