WW2 Airman From Cleveland, Ohio Accounted for after 80 Yrs Missing, 2nd Lt. KIA, Baltic Sea, Denmark

ABC6 OnYourSide, Feb. 27, 2025.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has officially accounted for U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum, a 22-year-old bombardier from Cleveland, Ohio, who was killed in action during World War II. McCollum was identified on Dec. 10, 2024, following an extensive recovery and identification effort spanning decades.

Assigned to the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, McCollum was aboard a B-24J Liberator bomber on June 20, 1944, when his aircraft collided midair with another B-24 and crashed into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark. While the pilot and co-pilot managed to bail out and survive, McCollum and the rest of the crew were presumed killed. The War Department issued a Finding of Death on June 21, 1945, and he was declared non-recoverable in 1950 after unsuccessful search efforts.

In 2019, Danish divers discovered a WWII-era aircraft wreck in the area of the crash. Subsequent investigations by the DPAA and its partners, including the Royal Danish Navy and Trident Archäologie, led to the recovery of remains and material evidence in 2022, 2023, and 2024. McCollum was identified using dental and anthropological analysis, as well as DNA testing.

McCollum’s name is memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery in England, where a rosette will be placed beside his name to indicate his identification. He will be buried in San Jose, California, at a later date. ---

https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/wwii-airman-from-ohio-accounted-for-after-80-years-cleveland-robert-mccollum-bomber-air-force-world-war-two-pow-mia