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FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Richard J. Kasten, a Soldier killed during World War II, will be interred May 28 at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Augusta, Michigan. Baxter Funeral Home, Battle Creek, Michigan, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.
A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kasten was a navigator assigned to the 68th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater. He was killed in action Jan. 21, 1944, after the B-24D Liberator, on which he was serving, was attacked by German air forces near Écalles-sur-Buchy, France, crashing near Lignières-Châtelain. He was 24.
Kasten was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency July 18, 2023, after his remains were exhumed from Suresnes American Cemetery, Suresnes, France, in April 2019, for laboratory analysis.
The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division, Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in the process of locating family members of Soldiers from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
The process begins with locating the family member most closely related to the missing servicemember, 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 servicemember 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, to include burial with full military honors.
For additional information about 1st Lt. Kasten, go to: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Press-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3705860/airman-accounted-for-from-wwii-kasten-r/
Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490 and/or Baxter Funeral Home, 269-788-9800.
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| Date Taken: | 05.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2024 13:08 |
| Story ID: | 471994 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, US |
| Hometown: | KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, US |
| Hometown: | LANSING, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 317 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Remains of World War II Soldier to be buried in Battle Creek, Michigan, by Fonda Bock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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