Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kenneth J. McKeeman, 23, of Brooklyn, New York, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 18, 2023.
In early 1944, McKeeman was assigned to the 724th Bombardment Squadron, 451st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean and European Theater. On March 11, McKeeman, a bombardier onboard a B-24D “Liberator”, was killed in action when his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire over Toulon, France. An eyewitness from another aircraft reported seeing McKeeman’s plane on fire and plummeting out of the sky, before eventually breaking apart and crashing into the sea. All 11 crewmembers were killed in the incident. German forces garrisoned in the area documented the crash site near Cape Cépet and recovered several sets of remains, which were then interred them in the Lagoubran Cemetery, France.
Beginning in 1945, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, exhumed 25 graves from the Lagoubran Cemetery. Among the recovered remains were some of McKeeman’s fellow crewmen, and four unknowns designated X-84, X-85, X-86 and X-92 Luynes. These unknowns were ultimately interred in Rhône American Cemetery in Draguignan, France.
In June 2019, DPAA historians and American Battle Monuments Commission personnel, exhumed X-85 from Rhône American Cemetery and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis where it was later determined the remains belonged to McKeeman.
To identify McKeeman’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
TSgt. McKeeman’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Rhône American Cemetery, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
TSgt. McKeeman will be buried in Middletown, Connecticut, on June 7, 2024.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
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 or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.
McKeeman’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001kgHt8EAE.