In this March 1, 1944 file photo, American infantrymen cross a stream on their advance in northern Burma. The U.S. and Myanmar have begun negotiations for resuming a search for some 730 Americans still missing from World War II in Myanmar. Most of MIAs were airmen who went down in the country's northern Kachin State, a remote region of mountains, dense jungles and an ongoing insurgency by the Kachin fighting for autonomy from the central government. These would make any recovery effort difficult, and possibly dangerous. Photo: File / AP
March 14, 2012 - Forced to skim the ground under a 100-foot (30-meter) cloud ceiling, fighting rain and wretched visibility, the C-47 Skytrain probably proved an easy target for Japanese gunners. Packed with ammunition, the aircraft exploded, plunging into a jungle that swallowed it up for 57 years.
Today, the remains of seven U.S. airmen on that ill-fated flight lie in the military's Arlington Cemetery. They were the last to be recovered before Myanmar halted a search for 730 other Americans still missing from World War II in the Southeast Asian country.
But now, as bilateral relations improve, there's hope others missing in action will be brought home.
Negotiations with senior U.S. officials began last month, following up on a visit in December by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Most of the MIAs were airmen flying some of the war's most dangerous missions as they hauled supplies to beleaguered Allied forces over snowy Himalayan ranges and boundless jungles.
snip "We are happy to hear that Mrs. Clinton's trip to Burma has made it possible for more of our men to come home to their families," said Robert Frantz, brother of one of those who perished in the 1944 Skytrain crash, U.S. Army Air Force Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz.
"Our group of families has been behind any and all efforts to recover more of our men from anywhere," Frantz said.
Although Washington insists the MIA search will be a strictly "stand-alone humanitarian matter," a joint search could bear political fruit as it did in Vietnam. Following the Vietnam War, dialogue between the one-time enemies was restricted to the MIA issue.
"The U.S. and Burma could come together through the search for missing Americans much like happened in Vietnam two decades ago," said Murray Hiebert, an analyst with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. read more>>>
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