ID of WWII gunner's remains leads to funeral after 73 years
FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — The remains of a gunner whose plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean during World War II have been identified and returned to his sister in Ohio after 73 years.
A funeral for Ora Sharninghouse Jr. was scheduled Saturday in Findlay, where his 84-year-old sister, Joan Stough, lives.
She was 11 when he went missing in action in 1944. She tells The Blade newspaper their family never had a funeral for Sharninghouse because their mother held out hope he might return.
The remains of Sharninghouse and a radioman were recovered from their torpedo bomber in 2014 near the Republic of Palau. DNA testing helped identify them.
Stough says she was stunned when the U.S.