Frozen aviator identified by lab
Officials in Hawai'i yesterday confirmed the identity of a World War II aviator found encased in ice in a California mountain range as Aviation Cadet Leo Mustonen of Brainerd, Minn.
Mustonen, 22, was one of four soldiers aboard an AT-7 Navigator that crashed Nov. 18, 1942 on Darwin Glacier in the Sierra Nevada range.
A friend of Mustonen's family last month identified the aviator, but the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base, which examined the remains, said at the time the findings were "preliminary" and still under review.
Hikers found Mustonen's well-preserved body in 2005 in Kings Canyon National Park. The remains were transported to Hawai'i for identification.
Mitochondrial DNA and other evidence were used to identify Mustonen. A name could be read on a faded badge on the serviceman's clothing. Funeral arrangements are pending.