Houston, TX. – “Uncle Ottaway is coming home.”
First Lieutenant Ottaway B. Cornwell of the U.S. Army Air Force was flying a spitfire on a reconnaissance mission over the south of France during World War II when he was fatally shot down during an aerial dogfight with German pilots on January 27, 1944.
More than 70 years later, in 2016, A French chef, looking for mushrooms on a mountainside, discovered the wreckage, buried in an unmarked grave.
“Steve found some bone fragments on the wreckage and they did DNA analysis and they confirmed it was my uncle’s wreckage,” said Daniel Cornwell.
With 1st Lt. Cornwell’s remains now having been positively identified, so began the long journey to have them returned to Texas to be laid to rest. After a two-year delay due to COVID, on this National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the 1st Lt.’s body arrived at Hobby Airport. A hero’s welcome home, complete with an escort from the Patriot Riders to Klein Funeral Home.
“It’s been a fascinating, amazing journey,” Cornwell said.
His two nephews, who’ve been working tirelessly with the American, French, and German governments to bring their uncle’s remains home to their final resting place, appreciate everyone who helped put this together. “We’re just here to represent the family. It’s just a relief in that regard. Its closure,” Scott Cornwell said.
There will be a funeral service at Klein Funeral Home on Friday, Sept, 23, 2002 at 10:00 a.m., followed by a graveside service at Houston National Cemetery.
