Staff report
The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Joe A. De Jarnette, a soldier killed during World War II, will be interred April 26 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Erlanger. Dobbling, Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Bellevue, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.
A native of Fort Thomas, De Jarnette was assigned to the 732nd Bombardment Squadron, 453rd Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater.
He was killed in action April 8, 1944, at age 24, after the B-24H “Liberator,” he was flying was shot down by enemy fighter aircraft fire while on a bombing mission to Brunswick, Germany.
De Jarnette was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency June 20, 2024, after his remains were excavated from the crash site between 2021 and 2023 for laboratory analysis and identification.
The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, plays a key role in the process of locating family members of missing Soldiers from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
The process begins with locating the family member most closely related to the missing soldier, known as the primary next of kin, followed by a request for family reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.
Once a soldier has been identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the PCRB notifies and briefs the Family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process including burial with full military honors.
For additional information about 1st Lt. De Jarnette click here.
See the NKyTribune’s earlier story about 1st Lt. De Jarnette here.