KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – The Malaysian government on Thursday returned to U.S. custody human remains recovered from the crash of a U.S. military transport plane in 1945.
A wooden box containing remains from the crash site was handed over to an American military team at an airport ceremony attended by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter. The box was placed inside a larger medal container by the Americans, a U.S. flag placed over it, and the container was then carried aboard a U.S. C-17 cargo plane for a flight to Hawaii. A Defense Department lab will attempt to identify them.
U.S. officials declined to name the individuals associated with the remains or say how many sets of remains were recovered. It has been widely known for years that the only three servicemen aboard the C-47B cargo plane were Judson Baskett, William H. Myers and Donald E. Jones. The three were presumed to have died but have been listed ever since as missing in action.
The aircraft crashed on a mountain slope while flying from Singapore to an airfield in Penang, Malaysia, on Nov. 27, 1945, just months after the conclusion of World War II.
The exact cause of the crash is unclear.