Oceanside (CA) man joins campaign to find WWII MIAs

[Roland99]

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/09/12/news/top_stories/91105201928.txt

Captured and shot in the neck by Burmese men after crashing his airplane into a rice paddy a mile west of Pyinchaung, Burma, 1st Lt. Burdette Goodrich spent seven months in the camp before dying of colitis, malnutrition and dysentery, according to Army files given to the family.

Buried for a short while after his death, the body of Burdette Goodrich was exhumed along with the bodies of dozens of other soldiers; they were brought back to the United States for proper burial. Placed on a C-47B cargo plane, the bodies and the craft made their way to Calcutta, India, and suddenly disappeared.

Since May 17, 1946, what happened to the airplane, its crew and the remains of the dead soldiers has been a mystery. Jim Goodrich, 70, who lives in Oceanside, said the remains of approximately 53 bodies ---- including passengers and crew ---- are thought to be on the plane.

Looking at sepia-toned photographs of his brother in uniform, standing with his fighter plane "Duffy #2," named for Burdette Goodrich's wife, Jim Goodrich says his brother still has a burial plot waiting for him in Washington, his home state.

Goodrich is just one of several relatives searching for the final resting place of the C-47 in hopes of bring their soldiers home.

Jim's a good friend of mine (albeit a long distance one) and I wish him the best in his search. I plan on writing my Representative and Senator to see what they can do to help this group in finding all MIAs from all the wars.

[enigami]

1. Good Luck to Your Friend n/t

[Roland99]

2. He sent me this page, too:

http://www.miac47burmawwii.org/index.html