Remains of missing WWII airman from Kalamazoo identified
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The remains of a U.S. Army Air Force airman from Kalamazoo, who was killed during World War II, have been identified, according to the Department of Defense.
On Wednesday, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced the remains as 1st Lt. Richard J. Kasten, 24, of Kalamazoo.
In January 1944, Kasten was assigned to the 68th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy). He was a navigator on board a B-24D Liberator when, on Jan. 21, his plane was attacked by German air forces near Écalles-sur-Buchy, France. The plane crashed near Lignières-Châtelain, where four of the 11 crewmembers were killed. German troops found the crash site and found three sets of remains. Kasten’s remains were not reported, and he was listed as Killed in Action by October 1944, the DPAA said in a news release.
In April 2019, DPAA historians and American Battle Monuments Commission officials exhumed remains from the Suresnes American Cemetery and determined they belonged to Kasten, according to the release.
DPAA said scientists used anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA to identify Kasten’s remains.
He will be buried in Battle Creek, but a date has not been set. For family and funeral information, call the Army Casualty Office at 800.892.2490.
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