WASHINGTON –
Army Air Forces Pfc. Joseph I. Natvik, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 24, 2018.
On July 17, 1945, Natvick, a member of the 1330 Army Air Force Base Unit, Air Transport Command, was the engineer on board a C-109 aircraft, en route from Jorhat, India, to Hsinching, China, over “The Hump,” when the aircraft crashed in a remote area. All four passengers were declared deceased after an extensive search effort failed to locate the crash site.
One set of remains was identified on Feb. 9, 2016 as the co-pilot, 1st Lt. Frederick W. Langhorst, 24, of Yonkers, New York. Langhorst was buried Nov. 26, 2016 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Another set of remains was identified Sept. 24, 2018 as Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Allen R. Turner.
DPAA is grateful to Clayton Kuhles and the government of India for their partnership in this mission.
Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.
Natvik’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Taguig City, Philippines, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For more information about DPAA, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call 703-699-1420/1169.