ANNVILLE, Pa., May 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Maj.
Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania's adjutant general and head of
the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, participated in a
graveside service for repatriated Army Air Force Staff Sgt.
Carl M. Shaffer who was killed in
1944 during WWII. Shaffer, who was 22 when he died, was buried in
his hometown of Pottstown,
Montgomery County.
"It was an honor to participate in the repatriation service of
an American hero and to see that his family now has closure after
nearly 75 years," said Carrelli. "I have great admiration for those
who patrolled the skies more than seven decades ago, at a time when
the enemy was tenacious and the survival rate for an aviator was
low. We enjoy freedom in America like nowhere else in the world
because of men and women like Staff Sgt. Shaffer. The service today
shows just how committed our country is to making sure every
servicemember who perished in foreign land eventually comes home to
rest."
On Jan. 21, 1944, Shaffer was a
member of the 38th Bombardment Squadron, 30th Bombardment Group,
stationed at Hawkins Field, Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert
Islands. During a combat mission, the B-24J bomber aircraft he was
on crashed into Tarawa lagoon
shortly after takeoff. Shaffer, a radio operator, and the nine
other servicemen on the aircraft were killed.
Shaffer's body was not found during the initial recovery
attempt. He was recently accounted for and identified after being
recovered from a cemetery established by the U.S. on Betio Island
during the war.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joseph
Butera, 717-861-2178
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-adjutant-general-attends-service-of-repatriated-soldier-staff-sgt-carl-m-shaffer-killed-in-1944-during-wwii-300856873.html
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs