In 1947, the remains of eight people involved in a B-24 Liberator crash in Burma were recovered by the American Grave Registration Service. These remains, known as Unknowns X-505A-H, were interred as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
In October 2020, after a family request, the remains were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. Through anthropological and mtDNA analysis, McLauchlen’s remains were identified and accounted for on January 25, 2024.
80 years after his plane was shot down on a bombing mission during World War II, 2nd Lt. John E. McLauchlen Jr., from Detroit, has been identified through DNA testing. On December 1, 1943, his B-24J Liberator bomber was struck by anti-aircraft fire while on a mission to the Insein Railroad Yard north of Rangoon, Burma. Witnesses reported that his aircraft entered a steep dive and disappeared below the clouds without any trace. The crew was declared missing in action and their remains were not recovered during the war.
The family of McLauchlen is relieved that after such a long time they have finally brought closure to this fallen soldier’s journey. He will be laid to rest on July 8 at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Kansas with graveside services conducted by Belden-Larkin Funeral Home following interment.