LEFAVRE; ARTHUR J.
UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES
WORLD WAR II
NJ
Individual Type Accounted For
Rank Flt O
Service Number T-125780
Location Germany
Date of Loss 12/23/1944
Unit 599 BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON 397 BOMBARDMENT GROUP (MEDIUM)

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001FxVuaEAF

On September 1, 2014, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Flight Officer Arthur J. LeFavre, missing from World War II.

Flight Officer LeFavre, who entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from New Jersey, served with the 599th Bombardment Squadron, 397th Bombardment Group (Medium). On December 23, 1944, he was the copilot of a B-26G Marauder (serial number unknown) when it took off from St. Quentin, France, on a bombing mission against an enemy-held bridge at Eller, Germany. During the mission, the aircraft was shot down and crashed near Seffern, Germany, near the border with Belgium. Because the crash occurred in enemy territory, his remains were not recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to the U.S. after the war. In 2006, civilian historian researchers located the missing Marauder's crash site and recovered human remains that were repatriated to JPAC. In 2012, JPAC investigators excavated the wreckage and recovered additional human remains. JPAC analysts used modern forensic techniques and identified Flight Officer LeFavre from among these remains.

Flight Officer LeFavre is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/612506/airmen-missing-from-world-war-ii-accounted-for-lefavre/

Press Release | Aug. 6, 2015

Airmen Missing From World War II Accounted For (LeFavre)

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. servicemen, missing from World War II, have been accounted for and their remains are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William P. Cook, 27, of Alameda, Calif., Flight Officer Arthur J. LeFavre, 22, of Red Bank, N.J., Staff Sgts. Maurice J. Fevold, 21, of Chicago, Frank G. Lane Jr., 21, of Cleveland, and Ward C. Swalwell Jr., 21, of Chicago, and Sgt. Eric M. Honeyman, 21, of Alameda, Calif., have been accounted for and will be buried with full military honors. Cook was buried Oct. 18, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. Fevold was buried Oct. 20, 2014, in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, Lane was buried May 2, 2015, in Willoughby, Ohio. Honeyman was buried on June 22, in Trail, British Columbia, Canada. LeFavre will be buried on Aug. 18 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington D.C. The group representing the crew will be buried on Aug. 18, in Arlington National Cemetery. Swalwell will be buried on Aug. 20, in Arlington National Cemetery.

On Dec. 23, 1944, Cook along with five other B-26G Marauder crewmembers took off from Saint Quentin, France, on a mission to bomb an enemy-held bridge in Eller, Germany. The aircraft was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire near Seffern, Germany, near the Belgium border.

Following World War II, the Army Graves Registration Command (AGRC) conducted extensive field investigations and was unable to locate the aircraft and the crew. In May 1949, AGRC concluded the crew members were unrecoverable.

In 2006, a group of researchers from Airwar History Working Group Rhine-Moselle and History Flight -99th Division MIA Project located the wreckage of a B-26G associated with the loss of this crew, near Allmuthen, Belgium and notified the U.S. Army Mortuary Affairs Activity – Europe. In 2007, a Department of Defense (DoD) team investigated the site and recommended it for excavation.

In 2012 and 2013, another DoD team excavated the crash site and recovered human remains, aircraft wreckage, and personal effects.

To identify Honeyman’s remains, scientists from DoD and AFDIL used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including, partial Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeat (Y-STR) DNA, which matched Honeyman’s paternal-line cousins.

To identify Cook’s remains, scientists from DoD and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including mitochondrial DNA, which matched Cook’s maternal-line cousins.

To identify LeFavre’s remains scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including, mitochondrial DNA, which matched LeFavre’s maternal-line niece and grandniece.

To identify Lane’s remains, scientists from DPAA and AFDIL used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including, partial Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeat (Y-STR) DNA, which matched Lane’s paternal-line nephew.

To identify Fevold’s remains, scientists from DoD and AFDIL used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including, mitochondrial DNA, which matched Fevold’s maternal-line niece.

To identify Swalwell’s remains scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including, mitochondrial DNA, which matched Swalwell’s maternal-line sister and niece.

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 www.dpaa.mil or call (703) 699-1420.

Arthur J Le Favre