Staff Sergeant John H. Danneker

In June 1944, Danneker was assigned to the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater. On June 20, Danneker, the left waist gunner onboard a B-24J “Liberator” bomber, went missing inaction when his plane crashed into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark after colliding with another B-24 in the same formation. The pilot and co-pilot of Danneker’s aircraft were able to bail out and survived, but all evidence points to the rest of the crew being killed in the crash. The U.S. War Department issued a Finding of Death for Danneker on June 21,1945.

In early 1948, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, investigated the crash, but were unable to find any of the missing crewmen. Over the next couple of years, the AGRC also assessed unidentified remains that washed ashore in the area where Danneker’s aircraft crashed but were not able to identify any of the crew. Danneker was declared non-recoverable on May 12, 1950. In 2019, Danish divers alerted the Royal Danish Navy to a WWII-era aircraft wreck in the general area where Danneker’s aircraft crashed. A .50 caliber machine gun with a damaged serial number that partially matched on the guns on Danneker’s aircraft was recovered. In August 2021, after the Royal Danish Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal cleared the site of unexploded ordnance, DPAA partner University of Delaware, along with the Royal Danish Navy, returned to conduct an underwater survey. The survey found possible human remains as well as enough evidence to recommend the site for an archaeological excavation. From Sept. 21 to Oct. 11, 2022, DPAA primary partner Trident Archäologie, along with Wessex Archaeology and volunteers from Project Recover, and with stakeholders from the Royal Danish Navy and the Langelands Museum, returned to the site to conduct excavation and recovery operations. They found extensive evidence, including remains, material evidence, and the ID tags of two of the crew members, all of which was turned over to the Danish authorities and then accessioned into the DPAA laboratory. Trident Archäologie, Wessex Archaeology, the Royal Danish Navy, and the Langelands Museum again returned to the site from Sept. 4-23, 2023, and May 18 to June 9, 2024, to conduct further operations, during which they found further material evidence and possible remains. That evidence was also accessioned into the DPAA laboratory. To identify Danneker’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome, and autosomal DNA analysis.