Lost in 1944, WWII Flyer Will Be Laid to Rest in Texas

DALLAS, TEXAS, UNITED STATES

06.17.2026

Story by Daniela Vestal 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William E. Archer Jr., 22, killed during World War II, will be interred June 25 in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. Service and interment will be coordinated by Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home.

In the fall of 1944, Archer served with the 15th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. On Oct. 31, he piloted an F-5B reconnaissance aircraft, which is the same as a P-38 fighter whose weapons were replaced with reconnaissance gear, on a mission over southern Yugoslavia.

After taking off, Archer made a routine call to local fighter sector control but then was never heard from again. There are no reports of his capture or death, and a crash site associated with Archer or his plane was never found. A presumptive finding of death was issued Nov. 1, 1945.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Archer on Feb. 4, 2026.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Archer, please visit: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4442809/pilot-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-archer-jr-w/

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 Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home, 817-498-5894.

• Date Taken: 06.17.2026
• Date Posted: 06.17.2026 16:32
• Story ID: 568069
• Location: DALLAS, TEXAS, US