Army Air Forces Flight Officer Judson B. Baskett, missing from World War II, has now been accounted for.
On Nov. 27, 1945, Baskett was a member of the 1305th Army Air Force Base Unit, piloting a C-47B aircraft, en route from Singapore to Butterworth, Malaysia, to pick up cargo, along with two crewmembers. An hour after takeoff, the aircraft reported its position over Malacca, but failed to land as scheduled in Butterworth. An air search conducted in December did not locate a crash site.
In April 2010, a Joint Personnel Accounting Command (JPAC), now DPAA, investigation team interviewed a local man who managed a logging area in the vicinity of where Basket's plane was believed to have crashed. In August and September 2015, a joint Malaysian/U.S. team excavated the crash site, recovering possible remains.
Lab analysis, in conjunction with the totality of circumstantial evidence available, established Flight Officer Baskett's remains were included.
Interment services are scheduled for August 12 in Houston.
Welcome home and rest in peace, Flight Officer Baskett.