Photos by Sgt. Trenton Fouche
After 80 years, the body of World War II Army Air Corps Technical Sergeant Harold Kretzer of Odin was returned home, and a burial with military honors was held on Saturday at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield.
Kretzer was killed in action on August 1st, 1943 during Operation Tidal Wave over Romania. The operation was designed to starve the Nazi war machine of the fuel it needed to continue to fight.
Kretzer was unaccounted for until August 23rd, 2022 when the US military’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to identify Kretzer through DNA collected from his family as well as other evidence collected through the years.
The Illinois National Guard provided a casualty assistance officer and Funeral and Honors support to the family of Technical Sergeant Kretzer.
See the full story here on how the remains of Techincal Sergeant Kretzer were identified.
Click on the photos below for a larger version and caption of the activity underway.
