Missing Airman from World War II buried at Arlington

By U.S. ArmyDecember 10, 2014

Missing Airman from WWII buried at Arlington
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Callaghan-Mccann salutes the flag before he presents the flag to a family member of Army Air Forces Sgt. Charles A. Gardner Dec. 4, 2014, in Arlington National Cemetery, Va. Gardner, along with 11 of his fellow crew members,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Missing Airman from WWII buried at Arlington
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Callaghan-Mccann prepares to present the flag to a family member of Army Air Forces Sgt. Charles A. Gardner, Dec. 4, 2014, in Arlington National Cemetery, Va. Gardner, along with 11 of his fellow crew members, went missing o... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Missing Airman from WWII buried at Arlington
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Members of the U.S. Army 1st Battallion 3rd Infantry, Caisson Platoon carry the remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Charles A. Gardner, Dec. 4, 2014, in Arlington National Cemetery, Va. Gardner, along with 11 of his fellow crew members, went missing... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ARLINGTON, Va. (Air Force News Service, Dec. 9, 2014) -- The remains of an Army Air Forces Airman who had been missing since World War II was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Dec. 4.

Sgt. Charles A. Gardner's remains were discovered in 2001, by a U.S.-led team that found wreckage with a tail number that matched that of his downed B-24D Liberator.

Gardner and 11 other crew members went missing, April 10, 1944, after they were shot down over Madang Province during a planned attack on an anti-aircraft site at Hansa Bay on the north coast of Papua, New Guinea. The bay was a major Japanese naval base and transit station during World War II.

Theodore Gardner was only a teenager when the family was notified that his older brother, Charles, had gone missing. Most of his memories of his brother come from letters sent home during the war. However, he has a vivid memory of his father's reaction upon receiving the telegram with the terrible news.

"We were sitting at our kitchen table where we lived in Mullins, South Carolina," Gardner said. "My father laid his head on the table and cried. That was one of the very few times I ever saw my father cry, and it was the first emotional part of my brother's death to us."

Theodore received the phone call about six months ago informing him that his brother's remains were identified and asking where the family wanted him to be buried. Since there really weren't any family members and friends left on the West Coast, where Charles grew up, Theodore didn't hesitate to say Arlington National Cemetery was where he should be laid to rest.

Four of Gardner's fellow crew members died in captivity after they parachuted from the B-24D after it was hit. However, the Army Graves Registration Service only recovered remains of three others after the war, so Gardner remained missing for almost six decades. According to Department of Defense information, it was scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory who identified Gardner's remains.

Harvey March Jr., Gardner's nephew, was expecting an emotional day before his uncle's service at Arlington.

"I know it's going to be an emotional day," March said. "I'm emotional already."

It was March's DNA, and that of his cousin, the late Elaine Steinmetz, that enabled their uncle's remains to be identified. Steinmetz died in March.

"I thought it was amazing," March said about the DNA. "Glory be that we have it."

Because Gardner was an Army Air Forces Airman, the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), conducted military honors for his service, which included a caisson, escort platoon, colors and caskets team, firing party and the U.S. Army Band. Before Gardner received his brother's flag and the three-rifle salute, Army Chaplain (Capt.) Ted Randall summed up the family's feelings.

"For our comrade, Sgt. Charles Gardner, our nation bestows military honors," the chaplain said at the end of his remarks. "In life, he honored the flag, and in death, the flag will honor him."

The day was an emotional one for Gardner's family, but it also was one that finally brought some closure after a six-decade effort to bring him to his final resting place at Arlington.

"I expect it will be emotional for us to a certain point," Gardner said. "But the fact is we will know this is finally taken care of, that we were able to bring Charles to his final resting place."

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