Kansas man lost after WWII finally laid to rest

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) - A Topeka pilot whose plane went down during a post-World War II operation has finally been laid to rest in his native state.

Hundreds of people lined the streets Wednesday near Fort Leavenworth to honor 2nd Lt. Verne L. Gibb, whose cargo plane was lost on Oct. 23, 1945, while on a flight between Burma and India, likely because of bad weather.

After more than 60 aerial searches failed to locate the plane, Gibb and five other people on the aircraft were declared dead. Gibb was 22 when the C-47B Skytrain aircraft was lost.

A Burmese national found Gibb’s remains 30 years ago and gave them to a priest, according to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Arlington, Va. The priest gave the remains to an American school teacher in 2002 and they were later turned over to the U.S. Defense Attaché in Rangoon, Burma, and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

The remains, a few bone fragments, were positively identified using DNA in October 2013, The Leavenworth Times reported (https://bit.ly/1iQIbgR).

“As our nation called in a time of war, he responded to that call, not knowing what the outcome would be,” said Lt. Col. Richard D. Garvey, a chaplain at the Command and General Staff College, who officiated at Gibb’s memorial service at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. “He answered the call of his nation. He was willing to lay down his life for his family and his friends.”

Several of Gibb’s family members attended Wednesday’s service, including his daughter, Veronica Stoneback. A private burial took place after the service. Family members were not available for comment.

Cemetery Director William Owensby told Gibb’s family he is “another of America’s heroes,” and his resting place will be respected.

“We make the commitment to you that we will care for his grave as we do all of the other veterans who are buried in this national cemetery,” Owensby said. “We do that with love, dignity and honor that our nation’s veterans so richly deserve.”

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Information from: Leavenworth (Kan.) Times, https://www.leavenworthtimes.com