Thelbert's remains were recovered in 1962. He was interred in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

" Click Here " for that record.

A "Rosette" was placed in front of his name here at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Son of Mrs. Edith L. Lair who resided in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Thelbert served as a First Lieutenant & Pilot on C-47B #43-16230, 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

He resided in Dade County, Florida prior to the war and had previously been a member of the Military Reserves.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 1, 1944 in Miami Beach, Florida. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Clerk and also as Single, without dependents.

C-47B #43-16230 took off, with a crew of 4 & 3 passengers, from Merauke Airfield, Merauke Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia on a cargo mission to Biak Island, Papua New Guinea. After takeoff they were not seen nor heard from again.

Thelbert was first declared "Missing In Action" in the "Line Of Duty" on this mission during the war.

On March 2, 1962 the wreckage of this C-47 was discovered by New Zealander explorer Philip Temple on a mountain peak at 12,000' in Irian Jaya. Afterwards, he reported the discovery to the US authorities. A U.S. Army team visited the crash site and recovered the remains of the crew and sent them to Hawaii for identification.

It was determined that C-47B #43-16230 had crashed due to extremely bad weather in the area.

After recovery of his remains Thelbert's status was changed to "Killed In Action" in the "Line Of Duty" during the war.

Service # O-720525

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Airmen who perished on C-47B #43-16230:

Lair, Thelbert V ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, FL
Ludwig, Christian J ~ 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot, MD
Richardson, Cecil F ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, VA
Skodis, John P ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, PA
Waldrop, William O ~ Sgt, Engineer, SC
Ward, Johnnie M ~ Pfc, Passenger, WV
Wummer, Edwin F ~ Sgt, Radio Operator, PA

( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thelbert's remains were recovered in 1962. He was interred in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

" Click Here " for that record.

A "Rosette" was placed in front of his name here at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Son of Mrs. Edith L. Lair who resided in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Thelbert served as a First Lieutenant & Pilot on C-47B #43-16230, 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

He resided in Dade County, Florida prior to the war and had previously been a member of the Military Reserves.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 1, 1944 in Miami Beach, Florida. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Clerk and also as Single, without dependents.

C-47B #43-16230 took off, with a crew of 4 & 3 passengers, from Merauke Airfield, Merauke Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia on a cargo mission to Biak Island, Papua New Guinea. After takeoff they were not seen nor heard from again.

Thelbert was first declared "Missing In Action" in the "Line Of Duty" on this mission during the war.

On March 2, 1962 the wreckage of this C-47 was discovered by New Zealander explorer Philip Temple on a mountain peak at 12,000' in Irian Jaya. Afterwards, he reported the discovery to the US authorities. A U.S. Army team visited the crash site and recovered the remains of the crew and sent them to Hawaii for identification.

It was determined that C-47B #43-16230 had crashed due to extremely bad weather in the area.

After recovery of his remains Thelbert's status was changed to "Killed In Action" in the "Line Of Duty" during the war.

Service # O-720525

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Airmen who perished on C-47B #43-16230:

Lair, Thelbert V ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, FL
Ludwig, Christian J ~ 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot, MD
Richardson, Cecil F ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, VA
Skodis, John P ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, PA
Waldrop, William O ~ Sgt, Engineer, SC
Ward, Johnnie M ~ Pfc, Passenger, WV
Wummer, Edwin F ~ Sgt, Radio Operator, PA

( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~