FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Russell O. Chitwood, 27, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, killed during World War II, will be interred April 11, in Cunningham Cemetery in Royal, Arkansas. Smith Family Funeral Homes will coordinate services preceding the interment.
In the winter of 1943, Chitwood was assigned to the 359th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force, in England. On January 3, while on a bombing mission to Saint-Nazaire, France, his B-17F aircraft was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and then attacked by German fighter planes. Some of the crew bailed out into the Bay of Biscay, France, while the pilot managed to ditch the bomber successfully in the water. Of the ten crewmembers, three were taken prisoner, one was witnessed to die in the water, and the remaining six were presumed dead. Chitwood’s remains were not accounted for after the war.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Vega on March 4, 2025.
For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Pfc. Edwards’s remains, please visit: [https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4326375/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-chitwood-r/](https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4326375/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-chitwood-r/)
U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.
Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact Smith Family Funeral Homes, 501-758-1170.
| Date Taken: |
04.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
04.06.2026 10:26 |
| Story ID: |
562012 |
| Location: |
ROYAL, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: |
20 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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This work, Missing WWII Airman brought home to buried in Royal, AK, by Daniela Vestal, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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