FIRST LT. JOHN S. HANCOCK
REMAINS OF WWII VETERAN FROM HAILEYVILLE ARE IDENTIFIED
From "The Tulsa World," Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Section A, Page 11
FIRST LT. JOHN S. HANCOCK
McALESTER -- Sixty-two years after he disappeared in the New Guinea jungle, the remains of an Oklahoma World War II veteran have been identified.
First Lt. John S. Hancock, of Haileyville left for a bombing mission in November 1942 after telling his family he probably would not return home.
The 22-year-old pilot and his crew disappeared when their aircraft slammed into a mountain.
But through DNA testing, Army officials have confirmed a suspicion that Hancock's family revealed three years ago: Hancock has been found.
Flight jackets and other personal belongings were discovered among the World War II wreckage in 2001.
The best clue: a gold identification bracelet with "John S. Hancock" engraved on the back.
Six people have been identified from bone fragments and other remains. Two remain unknown.
Hancock's niece, nephew and sister-in-law have made tentative arrangements with Army officials for the return of his remains.
Hancock's family will attend a ceremony for all survivors of the flight crew in Arlington, Va., this spring.
His niece, Debbie Fuller, said the family hopes to bury him on his birthday, April 23.
Hancock graduated from Haileyville High School and received an associate's degree from Eastern Oklahoma State College.
Soon after, he entered flight school through the Army Air Corps.
McALESTER (AP) -- Walter Hancock lived long enough to learn that the wreckage of his brother's B-17 plane that was shot down during World War II had been found, but he died before he could see his sibling finally come home.
Walter Hancock's daughter and son were joined by other family, friends and veterans from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars as the remains of 1st Lt. John Hancock were laid to rest with full military honors Saturday.
"I never would have dreamed it would be like this," Walter Hancock's daughter, Debbie Fuller, said. "I never would have dreamed they would have ever found him."
An Army team from Fort Sill performed a special ceremony that included a rifle salute. Soldiers removed the U.S. flag draping the lieutenant's coffin, folded it and presented it to his family.
John Hancock and the other six members of the flight crew had been declared missing in action in November 1942 after their plane did not return from a nighttime bombing mission over the Solomon Islands. His relatives later learned that the plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire.
For decades, Walter Hancock and his family never knew what had happened to John Hancock. Then, in 2001, a villager led an Army team to a crash site in a remote part of New Guinea.
The team found remnants of Army Air Forces flight jackets, rusted .45-caliber pistols and an identification bracelet with the name "John Hancock" inscribed on it. They also found some bones.
Walter Hancock submitted DNA samples to help with the identification and the bones. Fuller said her father felt great peace in learning that the wreckage had been found.
Walter Hancock died not long afterward. His wife, Marian Hancock, said Walter Hancock had always hoped the DNA testing would lead to a positive identification.
Fuller's brother, John M. Hancock, who had been named after his uncle, said he, too, finally felt some peace following the service. "I was well-pleased with the number of veterans who showed up," he said.
A special ceremony will take place next week at Arlington National Cemetery, where all the unidentified remains from the B-17 will be buried in a common plot.
Fuller and her brother plan to be there.
"I'm going to take some Oklahoma dirt with me," she said. "If they'll let me, I'm going to put it in the ground with him."
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