Please see the attached media advisory prepared by the Army Human Resources Command.
MEDIA ADVISORY
March 6, 2006
The remains of a World War II Soldier recovered from a Californiaglacier in October 2005 have been identified as Aviation Cadet Leo Mustonen, 22, of Brainerd, Minn.
Mustonen was one of four Soldiers onboard an AT-7 Navigator aircraft which crashed into the Darwin Glacier, Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, during a training accident in November 1942. All onboard (one instructor and three cadets) were presumed dead after an exhaustive search launched immediately following the crash and concluding Dec. 14.
The site was found by hikerscrossing the glacier in 1947; however, the human remains recovered at that time could not be conclusively matched to specific individuals. They were buried as a group with full military honors in Golden GateNationalCemetery, San Bruno, Calif., in 1948.
In October 2005, hikers again came across the site and found additional human remains on the Mendel Glacier in California. (NOTE: Mendel Glacier is adjacent to Darwin Glacier and was formerly known as Little Darwin Glacier.)
A team of Park Rangers and a forensic anthropologist from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory (JPAC-CIL) in Hawaiirecovered the remains and transported them to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office. They subsequently were taken to JPAC for identification.
Mustonen was identified using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and circumstantial evidence.
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All four families involved have been notified of the identification. The Mustonen family will be formally briefed March 9 in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Mustonen family has asked media representatives contact Shari Lawrence; Deputy Public Affairs Officer; U.S. Army Human Resources Command; Alexandria, Va., at 703-946-0791 for more information. The family will not be taking any media requests for interviews.
The Mustonen family and Army officials will conduct a news conferenceat the Diocese of Saint Augustine Catholic Center, 11625 Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville following their briefing.
If you are interested in attending the news conference which will be held March 9 at 1:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, please send your contact information to:
or contact her via cell phone at 703-946-0791.
The point of contact for the Diocese of Saint Augustine Catholic Center is Kathleen Bagg-Morgan at 904-262-3200.
Funeral arrangements are pending at this time.
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BACKGROUND
On Nov. 18, 1942, 2nd Lt. William R. Gamber was the pilot of an AT-47 Navigator aircraft which departed Mather Field, Calif., about 8:30 a.m., on a routine navigation training flight. There were three aviation cadets manifested on the aircraft: John M. Mortenson, Ernest G. Munn and Leo Mustonen.
At take-off, the aircraft carried an estimated five hours of fuel. When the aircraft did not return or otherwise been accounted for by 1:30 p.m., officials initiated a search of the area. The search continued until Dec. 14, when it was abandoned without finding the aircraft or the Soldiers.
On Nov. 24, 1947, hikers crossing the Darwin Glacier in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range reported they had found aircraft wreckage. Shortly thereafter, U.S. Army personnel reached the site and located artifacts correlating the wreckage to Gamber’s aircraft. Human remains recovered from the site could not be individually identified and subsequently were buried as a group with full military honors in Golden GateNationalCemetery, San Bruno, Calif., in November 1948.
In October 2005, hikers crossing the Mendel Glacier in California found human remains and notified local officials. (NOTE: Mendel Glacier is adjacent to Darwin Glacier and was formerly known as Little Darwin Glacier.)
On Oct. 18, 2005, Park Rangers from Sequoia and KingsCanyonNational Parks along with a forensic anthropologist from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory (JPAC- CIL), recovered the remains of a single individual and transported them to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office. On Oct. 24, the remains were transported to JPAC for identification.
Mustonen was identified using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and circumstantial evidence. The family will be formally briefed on the case in Jacksonville March 9.
Funeral arrangements are pending at this time.