WWII MIA Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Parkhurst, laid to rest with full military honors

October 17, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

US Army Air Cops Shield

US Army Air Cops Shield

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 — The U.S. Department of Defense Thursday announced it has identified the remains of an Army officer missing in action since World War II.

The remains of Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Parkhurst, of Evansville, Ind., were returned to his family for a burial with full military honors on Oct. 16 in Dayton, Ohio, the Pentagon’s Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office said in a release.

Parkhurst and five others aboard a C-47A Skytrain departed Tanauan Airfield on Leyte, Philippines, on March 12, 1945, and were never heard from again. The crash site was discovered in 1989, and human remains and aircraft parts were turned over to U.S. officials.

Bryan Parkhurst wrote on a FaceBook page dedicated to fallen warriors, “Thank you all for your kind words. Lt. Arthur Parkhurst was my Grandfather’s brother and would have been my Great Uncle. The services yesterday were very nice and honored Arthur. I personally want to thank the Patriot Guard for their showing of respect to Arthur and the family.

Douglas-C-47-Skytrain

Douglas-C-47-Skytrain

I also learned at the services yesterday that Arthur, who didn’t smoke, traded his government issued cigarettes for…. a pet monkey. In the booklet the DPMO gave my Great Uncle Judd which described in depth the research and details of Arthur finally coming home, there is a section describing the remains found and within that there is a description of non-human remains being found in the wreckage. Uncle Judd noted in the book, ‘monkey?’

Thank you again, all of you. I can only hope the families of the 72,000 unaccounted for American’s from WWII can find the same closure which our family recently found.

Rest in Peace Uncle Arthur.”


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