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Soldier killed in WWII returned to Seattle
The Seattle native killed in a World War II operation was unidentified until 2021.
SEATTLE - The remains of a soldier killed during World War II will be returned to Seattle where he will be buried.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Anel B. Shay Jr., a Seattle native, was a member of the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, he was serving as a bombardier on a B-24 Liberator aircraft, when the plane crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.
Following the war, his remains could not be identified and were buried as Unknown in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
He was 26 years old.
Shay was identified on June 28, 2021 thanks to dental records and DNA analysis.
In 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with 'unaccounted for airmen' from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. Shay was among those recovered.
His name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Funeral services will take place at Acacia Memorial Park (14951 Bothell Way NE, Seattle) on Feb. 3.
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