A 10-man flight crew from the U.S. Army Air Forces’ 533rd Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomber Group (Heavy) set out on the unit’s first mission June 22, 1943, from Ridgewell, England, headed toward Antwerp, Belgium. After leaving the target, their B-17 was hit by anti-aircraft fire, losing a wing and crashing into the waters of the Oosterschelde, a lake to the northeast of the city, over the border into the Netherlands.

According to German records on the recovery of aircraft No. 42-3001, eight of the crew were recovered by the Germans and buried in a nearby military cemetery. Two were listed as German prisoners of war, who went on to survive World War II. Today, two of the crew are interred at Netherlands American Cemetery. One is listed on the Walls of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemtery in Belgium. Four have burial listings in the U.S.

But what about the 10th crewmember, Flight Officer Robert J. Marsh?

Missing in action

Last summer, a visitor from the U.K. to the Netherlands American Cemetery brought this question to Dédee Bouwens, an interpretive guide at the site.

According to Bouwens, he said he didn’t have any connection to the crew but noticed the discrepancy when conducting research. On the website, Find A Grave, Marsh was listed as “Burial Details Unknown.” Bouwens verified that Marsh, a Fresno County, California, native wasn’t listed on the walls of the missing at the cemetery, or at any other American Battle Monuments Commission site.

She did, however, find Marsh listed as unaccounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. If this was the case, Marsh’s name should have been etched along with the other almost 100,000 names of missing service members on ABMC’s walls of the missing.

Bouwens turned to historian Ben Brands at ABMC headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

After re-checking with DPAA, Brands consulted the World War II burial rosters, which contain the names of the more than 400,000 service members killed and missing in action from WWII. Again, Marsh was listed as missing.

After gathering other sources, Brands said it looked like Marsh was originally mistakenly identified as one of the crew members recovered from the lake. However, when those remains were moved to the temporary cemetery at Margraten, Netherlands, they were positively identified as his crewmate Sgt. John B. Hutchison. None of the recovered remains were identified as Marsh.

After the war, the individual military services compiled the names for the walls of the missing to be provided to ABMC. That’s also the timeframe when Marsh’s status was changed to missing in action. The timing of the change is why he may have been missed on the lists for the walls, Brands said.

After researching the case, ABMC issued the authorization for Marsh’s name to be added to the Walls of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery where his fellow crewmate, Sgt. Hugh F. Goswick, is also memorialized. Marsh’s name was engraved Feb. 20, 2025, almost 82 years after he went missing.

Correcting the record

As WWII ended, the War Department and the Department of the Navy were compiling the names of more than 400,000 dead and missing service members in the era of pen and paper, Brands said. “There are bound to be some clerical errors when you’re dealing with that scale and you’re doing it all by hand.”

While it was several months after his visit, Bouwen said she was happy to relay the information to the visitor that his interest in the crew of B-17 No. 42-30021 helped ensure Marsh’s name wouldn’t be forgotten.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Bouwen, a native of the Netherlands who has been a guide at ABMC since 2023. “It shows that we still care. And even if someone might have been overlooked that many years ago, to this day, we still care enough. We do our research. We fix it. I’m so very happy to be a part of that.”

3 more additions

Three other names also were recently approved to be added to ABMC’s walls of the missing. DPAA contacted ABMC when they noticed discrepancies in records.

U.S. Army Pfc. Raphael C. Butler of Ohio wasn’t memorialized at any of ABMC sites. Butler, who served in the 69th Tank Battalion, 6th Armored Division, was declared missing in action Jan. 16, 1945, during fighting outside of Bastogne, Belgium. His remains were not recovered after the war.

U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Robert E. Quish, of Connecticut, went missing Nov. 26, 1943, when the B-17 he was a crew member of failed to return from a bombing mission to Bremen, Germany. None of the crew was recovered. The nine other crewmembers from the 339th Squadron, 96th Bomber Group (Heavy) who went missing that day are recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemtery.

After researching these cases, Brands said they looked to be administrative errors. Butler’s name will be added to the Walls of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, joining that of Pvt. Charles A. Bailey, who died in the same tank as Butler. Quish’s name will join those of the rest of his crew at Cambridge American Cemetery.

DPAA is still in active pursuit of both Butler’s and Quish’s cases.

U.S. Army Tech. 5th Grade Harry F. Schulaski, of New York, was captured in Italy on Sept. 15, 1943, and transferred to various POW camps in Germany. He was last seen at Stalag IIIA in February 1945. Schulaski, who was a member of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, was originally listed as a POW, but because he was not recovered it was changed to missing in action. So, like Marsh’s case, the timing of the status change may have led to the discrepancy, Brands said. Schulaski’s name will be added to the Walls of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.

‘Time will not diminish the glory of their deeds’

Brands said he has about 40 other cases he is currently working, which include things such as errors in names, units and dates of death. Each case is researched and, if backed by enough evidence, corrected.

“It’s important that we get it right,” Brands said. “At the end of day, we owe that to these people. Our mission is to honor and remember their sacrifice in perpetuity on behalf of the American government and the American public, and part of that is making sure we’re doing it under the right name, under the right unit, under the right information.”

Almost 100,000 American servicemen and women who were missing in action, lost or buried at sea during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War are commemorated by name at ABMC cemeteries and memorials worldwide. Those who have since been identified by DPAA have bronze rosettes placed next to their names on the walls.

The crew of No. 42-30021

1st Lt. John J. Martin Jr. – buried at Netherlands American Cemetery
2nd Lt. Harry R. Long – POW, survived the war
Sgt. James S. Lantto – buried in Marquette, Michigan
Staff Sgt. Leonard J. Fornaro buried in Baltimore, Maryland
Sgt. John B. Hutchison – buried in Santa Clara, California
Flight Officer Robert J. Marsh – missing in action
2nd Lt. Wallace W. Hoag – POW, survived the war
Sgt. Hugh F. Goswick – missing in action
Staff Sgt. Glenn W. Witts – buried at Netherlands American Cemetery
Staff Sgt. Bill Geary – buried in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania