On July 10, 1943, 2nd Lt. Allan W. Knepper soared from Tunisia in his P-38 "Lightning" jet as part of a squadron of fighter planes heading to strike Axis forces in Sicily, Italy.
Amid the mission, waves of air forces were deployed every half an hour, skillfully evading enemy gunfire while targeting a German armored column.
Over 80 years later, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has revealed the successful identification of Knepper's remains, bringing closure to his sole surviving family member.
The DPAA did not disclose the method used to identify Knepper or which specific remains were utilized in the process. Since the 1970s, the agency has been able to identify and return the remains of close to 1,000 American service members who perished during World War II, allowing families to lay their loved ones to rest with full military honors, as stated by the agency.
Memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy, Knepper's story has been preserved by HonorStates.org, a platform dedicated to tracking military members. Although the military usually marks such names with a rosette once their remains are found, it remains uncertain if this will be done for Knepper.
Posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and an Air Medal, Knepper's valor and sacrifice have not gone unnoticed.
His life has been immortalized in the book "The Jagged Edge of Duty: A Fighter Pilot's World War II" by historian Robert Richardson. The book not only chronicles Knepper's journey but also provides closure to his only surviving relative, 79-year-old Shirley Finn.
In an interview with the Lewiston Tribune, Finn, who is Knepper's half-sister, expressed her gratitude towards Richardson, stating, "I felt like I finally met my brother." She also shared that her family never lost hope of finding Knepper's remains.
"I am tremendously grateful for Richardson," Finn mentioned in a 2017 interview with the Lewiston Tribune. "I didn't think anyone would be interested in reading a book about my brother. I didn't think other people would care. It just didn't occur to me."
