Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Schmidt, P.)

WASHINGTON   –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Paul W. Schmidt, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 28, 2022.

In March 1945, Schmidt was assigned to 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 8th Air Force. His squadron was engaged with attacking German lines of transportation along the Rhine River. On March 23, Schmidt was attacking an enemy train near Sendenhorst, Germany, in his F-6D Mustang fighter. His wingman reported he last saw Schmidt attacking the train, but he was never seen or heard from again. Schmidt was declared missing in action, but the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. On March 24, 1946, with no evidence Schmidt survived the fighting, the War Department issued a presumptive finding of death.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.