Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Wreaths Across America Day, Dec. 16, 2023. On April 11, 2024, U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Irving R. Newman, who was killed in action in 1943, will be interred at Arlington. (Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)

The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Irving R. Newman, killed in action in 1943, will be interred Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He will receive full military honors.

Newman, a native of Los Angeles, was assigned to the 343d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force.

On May 6, 1943, Newman and nine other crew members of a B-24D Liberator were flying a bombing mission at Reggio di Calabria harbor in Sicily. While heading to the target, the plane experienced engine failure, forcing the pilots to make a course correction away from the main bomber group and directly into enemy anti-aircraft fire. During an emergency landing, the plane caught fire and crashed into the water near Benghajsa Point, Malta.

Nine airmen survived. Newman could not be rescued, and he was declared unrecoverable after the war.

Recently, the University of Malta and a private company located the wreckage of a B-24D near Benghajsa Point at a depth of 180 feet. Beginning in 2018, a partner organization supported by DPAA archaeology recovered material evidence, life support equipment and suspected human remains from the crash site.

To identify Newman’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA and dental analysis.

Newman was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on June 20, 2023.

Newman’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)

Newman’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

As of May 2023, more than 81,000 Americans remain missing from WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Gulf Wars/other conflicts. Out of the total, approximately 75% of the losses are located in the Indo-Pacific region, and over 41,000 of the missing are presumed lost at sea (such as ship losses and known aircraft water losses).