WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Edward S. Kovaleski, 25, of Southbridge, Massachusetts, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 4, 2024.
Kovaleski’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In spring 1945, Kovaleski was assigned to the 760th Bombardment Squadron, 460th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force, in the European and Mediterranean Theater of World War II. On April 26, Kovaleski, an engineer and ball turret gunner on board the B-24J Liberator Seldom Available, was killed when his plane crashed near Hüttenberg, Austria, while enroute to their target bombing location in northern Italy. Witnesses from other planes and surviving crewmembers reported the Seldom Available experienced mechanical failure, forcing a spiraling descent and eventual crash. Prior to the explosion, the pilot gave the order to evacuate the aircraft at roughly 25,000 feet. Eight crewmembers survived the incident, but Kovaleski was not accounted for. There was no witness of any deployed parachute following the crash, and it was believed he was still in the plane when it crashed. Kovaleski’s remains were not recovered, and he was subsequently declared missing in action.
In 2017, DPAA researchers investigated a suspected crash site near Sankt Johann am Pressen, Karnten, Austria, after an independent researcher provided a lead which pointed to a possible crashed U.S. aircraft. Between 2021 and 2022, the crash site and a suspected nearby burial location were excavated by a DPAA partner organization. Evidence recovered from the site, believed to be associated with Kovaleski, was then sent to the DPAA laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify Kovaleski’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Kovaleski’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Firenze, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Kovaleski will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA would also like to thank Geoscope Services Limited, who excavated the site and recovered evidence that was transferred to the DPAA laboratory.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
Kovaleski’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzWErEAM.
Read Koveleski’s initial ID announcement here: Kovaleski.