On May 31, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Bruce H. Brown, 23, of Richmond, California, killed during World War II, has now been officially accounted for as of Sept. 22, 2023, thanks to DNA analysis.
Brown is listed as a citizen of California, but he has family in several Texas counties, including Harris County.
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1st Lt. Bruce Brown was the son of Bertha Punkoney Barron of Texas, and the stepson of Fred Westle Barron of Hanford, California. He was born in Miami, Arizona, but he lived most of his life in Hanford moving to Richmond, California in 1940.
His Texas ties are his maternal grandparents, Emma Geldmacher and Louis Punkoney, along with aunts, uncles, and cousins in Harris, Haskell, Jones, Lubbock, Stonewall, Travis, and Williamson Counties. He loved sports and was a musician. His enlistment record states that he was six feet tall, had light brown hair, and green eyes.
According to the DPAA, in December of 1942, Brown was assigned to the 401st Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force. On December 20, Brown was co-piloting a B-17F “Flying Fortress,” nicknamed Danellen, when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on a German aircraft factory at Romilly-sur-Seine, France.
Brown’s aircraft was last seen spiraling towards the ground. It crashed near the village of Bernieres-sur-Seine, France. Only one airman was able to parachute safely to the ground, while the other eight crew members, including Brown, were still on board. A villager witnessed the crash and confirmed there was only one survivor. The War Department issued a finding of death for 1st Lt. Brown on Dec. 20, 1943.
We spoke to Winnie McNamara, one of 1st Lt. Brown’s second cousins and a Houston resident. She was thrilled about the announcement and how the amazing story unfolded.
“It’s an incredible story,” she said.
She then recounted how the mystery was solved:
“The one crew member who survived, Salvatore Dalterio, parachuted to safety as the tail broke off the plane. He ended up at Stalag 17B near Krems, Austria, for the remainder of the war. Not a good place. There was a young boy in France, Jean Erisay, who collected artifacts from the crash site. He said the Nazis pretty much ignored him. He even found an engine plate. He eventually opened a museum in Tosny, France. He died during COVID, and the museum closed, sadly. The pilot’s family, Lt. Dan Corson, of Middletown, Ohio, had been looking for information on their loved one since the time of the crash. In 2011, a nephew traveled to France, and ventured into the museum. His uncle’s cigarette lighter was there. His name is also Dan Corson. He contacted the DPAA because he was convinced that the crew must be buried somewhere nearby. The DPAA then determined that there was very likely a correlation between this crew and 4 X-Graves (Unknown) at the Normandy American Cemetery. The remains were disinterred in 2019. Everyone donated DNA, including me, and the miracle of DNA solved the mystery.”
According to the DPAA, their scientists used anthropological analysis to identify his remains. They also tapped scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System that used Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome DNA analysis to help in the identification.
The DPAA said that 1st Lt. Brown’s name is recorded and memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, which is an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Cambridge, England, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for, and he will be buried in Houston.
Winnie McNamara let us know that the memorial service and internment will be held on Oct. 25, 2024, at 11:15 a.m. at the Houston National Cemetery located at 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77038. There will be a luncheon for family and friends to follow.
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 https://www.dpaa.mil/.
