WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Austin K. Neely, 26, of Texarkana, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Dec. 1, 2025.
Neely's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the spring of 1944, Neely was assigned to 433rd Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group. On April 14, Neely piloted one of 16 P-38J fighters during a bomber escort mission from Nadzab’s Airstrip #3 to Hollandia, Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia), along with over 300 allied aircraft. On their return, the aircrews encountered increasingly severe weather in their flight paths. 37 aircraft went missing, bailed out in the ocean, or were forced to return to base after sustaining too much damage to fly. The substantial aircraft losses made this the largest non-combat U.S. Army Air Forces disaster in World War II, earning it the name “Black Sunday.” Fifty-four airmen, including Neely went missing or died in their attempts to return to Nadzab. He was last seen when his aircraft disappeared into the storm. Postwar efforts failed to recover his remains.
In 1949, local villagers led Australian New Guinea Administrative officials to a crash site where a set of remains were recovered, along with wreckage of a P-38J. The remains were turned over to investigators from the American Graves Registration Service. However, attempts to associate the remains with any of the crew members were unsuccessful. They were declared unidentifiable and buried as Unknown X-5261 Manila Mausoleum (X-5261) in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In 2008, an investigation team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a DPAA predecessor, discovered additional wreckage near the site where Neely’s aircraft crashed. Nine years later, a DPAA investigation team reinvestigated the crash site and determined that there was sufficient historical evidence to recommend X-5261 for disinterment from the Punchbowl.
On July 20, 2023, DPAA personnel received approval for the disinterment and six months later, X-5261was exhumed and accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Neely’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA analysis.
Neely’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Neely was buried April 16, 2026, in Houston.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission.
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.
Neely’s personnel profile can be viewed at: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XekuEAC.
Neely’s initial ID announcement can be read at: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4345898/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-neely-a/