Press Release | March 12, 2025

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Chitwood, R.)

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Russell O. Chitwood, 27, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 4, 2025.

In the winter of 1943, Chitwood was assigned to 359th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force. On January 3, while on a bombing mission to Saint-Nazaire, France, his B-17F aircraft was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The crew bailed out into the Bay of Biscay, France. Of the 10 crewmembers, three were taken prisoner, one was witnessed to die in the water, and the remaining six were presumed dead. Chitwood’s remains were not accounted for after the war.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Chitwood’s case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.