Tech. Sgt. Eshelman, a B-24 radio operator, accounted for from World War II

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in March that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Paul F. Eshelman Jr., 21, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 27, 2023.

In the summer of 1943, Eshelman was assigned to the 344th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, Eshelman was the radio operator onboard a B-24 Liberator bomber "Tagalong" when it was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire.

The plane crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.

To identify Eshelman’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Eshelman 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 WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Eshelman will be buried in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, on a date to be determined.