World War II sergeant whose plane was shot down over Germany honored with reburial in California

Source: AP

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated 9:08 PM CDT, July 25, 2024

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After 80 years, a World War II sergeant killed in Germany has returned home to California.

On Thursday, community members lined the roads to honor U.S. Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport to a burial home in Riverside, California.

Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany, according to Honoring Our Fallen, an organization that provides support to families of fallen military and first responders.

One of the surviving crewmembers saw the plane was on fire, then fell in a steep dive before exploding on the ground. After the crash, German troops buried the remains of one soldier at a local cemetery, while the other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for.



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