Pilot burial solves two mysteries
Jia Xiudong, representing the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., reads a letter from Huang Renzhun during memorial services for 2nd Lt. Robert Hoyle Upchurch on Saturday, April 8, 2006. Lieutenant Upchurch was a member of the famed Flying Tigers during World War II and was listed as missing in action until his remains were identified last May by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. In his letter, Mr. Huang tells how, as a young boy, he remembered the body of an American pilot being recovered and given a ceremonial burial in the village of Guidong, Hunan Province. The villagers maintained the burial site more than 60 years until Lieutenant Upchurch's remains were returned to the U.S. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jack Braden)