The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Franklin H. McKinney, who vanished during a World War II reconnaissance mission, have been identified more than 80 years later, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Wednesday.
McKinney, 21, of Rhode Island, was on a secret spy mission when his F-5 Lightning aircraft failed to return after departing Yunnanyi, China, on Nov. 5, 1944. His mission was to photograph targets in Japanese-controlled territory in Thailand and Burma.
His squadron, the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the "Redhawks," conducted aerial espionage missions deep into enemy territory to gather intelligence crucial to the war effort. The loss of contact with McKinney occurred shortly after his departure, and despite searches along his suspected flight path, no evidence of a crash was found.
Discovery and Identification
Approximately at the time of his disappearance, local officials in Thailand reported an aircraft wreckage in a wooded area, which was believed to have been struck by lightning. A wartime report from the Royal Thai Air Force Museum indicated the aircraft exploded before crashing near Ban Mae Kua in the Sop Prap District of Lampang Province.
In 2018, third-party researchers located a crash site in a rice paddy field in Lampang province and connected it to McKinney's aircraft. DPAA investigators subsequently examined the site in 2019 and 2021. A recovery team excavated the area in 2022, recovering potential human remains.
Scientists at a DPAA laboratory used modern forensic techniques to identify McKinney from the recovered remains. Officials confirmed his identification on May 15, 2026. His family will be notified of the findings, and his name will be memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.