Memorial

More information

Statement of Cpt Andrew F. Crane a crew member who survived:
"After the plane received direct hits, a heading of 100 degrees was established to make an emergency landing at a Russian air strip. Fighters attacked and eventually all crew members bailed out. It is believed that all crew members were fired upon while descending in their parachutes. I was fired upon twice by an enemy fighter. When I landed, I was strafed by a Me109. He missed me by 2 feet and a second time by 6 feet. He came over a third time but I managed to dive in a creek. I saw none of the boys from the moment I hit the ground. I then tried to reach a haystack. Spotted, I was fired upon three times. I threw up my hands and surrendered. Taken to quarters I was told the Russian lines were but 10 kilometers away. My co-pilot Paul Honke was brought in bleeding. He suffered four strafing attacks, two in the air and two on the ground."

Field investigations, conducted on 29 December 1947 and 20 September 1949, failed to locate the remains of the eight casualties or of the crash site. It was revealed that an identification tag belonging to crew member S/Sgt De Matteis was turned in to American authorities at Bremen by a German refugee. Attempts were made upon receipt of the identification tag to learn the whereabouts of the refugee whose address was unknown.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced on 19 September 2025 that T/Sgt Donald A. Dorman has been accounted for.

After the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) searched for and disinterred the remains of U.S. personnel missing from the European Theater. However, at the time, the AGRC investigations in the Soviet occupied zone of Europe, including Poland, were severely limited.

Between 2008 and 2012, DPAA predecessor organizations undertook three field investigations into the loss of Dorman’s aircraft. These investigations determined that a B-17 “Flying Fortress” had crashed near the Polish town of Glinica in 1945. Additional investigations by DPAA followed in 2017 and 2018. Between 2019 and 2024, DPAA partnered with Alta Archaeological Consulting to plan and conduct five excavations at the site of the crash. During the excavations, teams led by Alta Archaeological Consulting recovered possible remains, which were transferred to a DPAA Laboratory for scientific analysis. There, based on the laboratory analysis, circumstantial evidence, and previous recoveries, the remains were identified as those of Dorman.

Funeral arrangements are pending (information added January 2026).