Remains of Dallas World War II pilot returned, to be buried in Texas
DALLAS - The remains of a Dallas World War II pilot, who was accounted for in 2022, have been returned to Texas to be buried.
Second Lieutenant David Murrel Lewis was in the U.S. Army Air Force. He was 20 when he died in action on August 1, 1943.
His aircraft crashed in Romania during Operation TIDAL WAVE. He was one of many pilots waging the largest U.S. air raid against Adolf Hitler’s Romanian oil fields.
Vivian Dennis-Monzingo is the closest living relative of Lewis, who was unaccounted for for nearly 80 years.
"As they got closer, they set off smoke cots. They didn’t have radar like today. There were a lot of reasons they didn’t see. And the smoke, they were just blinded and ambushed, I guess," Dennis-Monzingo said.
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Recently identified World War II pilot's remains to be buried in Quinlan
A North Texas family is preparing to lay to rest a World War II pilot whose remains were just recently identified. Air Force Technical Sergeant Frank Norris will be buried in his hometown of Quinlan in Hunt County.
Over the decades, the U.S. military has worked tirelessly to recover and reunite missing WWII service members remains with their families.
"The Army gave me a notice in 2014 that they were looking and had hopes. And in 2022, I got a phone call saying they had identified him on May 11, 2022," Dennis-Monzingo said.
His remains were identified after extensive work by the American Graves Registration Command.
"We’re so glad we can do this in honor of his mom and dad," Dennis-Monzingo said.
Lewis will be buried in Saltillo, Texas, on Sunday. His remains arrived at DFW Airport Friday, and a procession brought his remains to Sulphur Spring for his funeral and burial over the weekend.
Dennis-Monzingo, along with other family and supporters, were on hand for the welcome home.
"It’s hard to describe the emotions. Welcome home, and then I wish all the families could say that because we still have ones missing," Dennis-Monzingo said. "At family gatherings, it would come up in the conversations, and of course it was always the doubt, what happened? Where? It was a mystery. All they knew is he was killed in action.