Remains of World War II flyer coming home for Nebraska burial

BEATRICE, Neb. — A military agency says the correct remains of a Gage County man who died when his aircraft was shot down during World War II are being returned home for burial.

A funeral with military honors is set for Thursday in Beatrice for Richard Lane, with burial to follow in Filley. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release Tuesday that Lane was co-piloting a B-17 bomber when it was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed Dec. 27, 1944, near St. Florian, Austria.

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The agency says remains identified as those of Lane were identified in January 1946 and subsequently buried in Filley. But the agency says there apparently was a mix-up with those of another casualty.

The agency says remains removed in June last year from a U.S. military cemetery in Belgium underwent DNA and other analyses and have been positively identified as those of the Nebraska flyer.

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