WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Charles C. Palmer, Jr., 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 30, 2026.
In the fall of 1944, Palmer was assigned to the 700th Bombardment Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group, 2nd Air Division. On Sept. 27, he was the top turret gunner of a B-24H Liberator bomber during a bombing run on Kassel, Germany. Due to a navigation error, his group flew off course toward Göttingen. As they tried to catch up to the larger formation, the group was attacked by a fleet of enemy aircraft. Palmer’s plane was hit by enemy fire and went down. Three crew members survived, one was buried at a POW camp cemetery near Neustadt, and five, including Palmer, were not found. As this area was deep in enemy territory, U.S. forces couldn’t conduct immediate search and rescue operations.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Palmer’s case will be published once his family receives a full briefing.
For additional information on the War 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.
Palmer’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000LlZqEAK.