Remains Of WWII Airman From Passaic Accounted For, Military Says

PASSAIC, NJ — A fallen World War II soldier from North Jersey will finally be laid to rest in his home state, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

The family of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William Scott has recently received a full briefing about his identification though he was identified almost two years ago, the DPAA said. Scott, of Passaic, died at the age of 21 during a major offensive against oil refineries in Romania.

Scott, 21, was navigating an aircraft during the attack on Aug. 1, 1943, when it was shot down by enemy aircraft fire. This major bombing mission, known as "Operation Tidal Wave," was a costly one for the USAAF — with 310 airmen killed or missing, and 190 captured or interned.

Scott's remains were not identified after the war, and buried with other soldiers as an unknown fallen hero in the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan in Ploiesti, Romania.

On Monday, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that the Passaic native's family has now been notified, though his remains were positively identified two years ago.

In 2017, the DPAA began exhuming remains that were believed to be associated with the airmen lost during Operation Tidal Wave.

Scientists at the DPAA Laboratory combined DNA analysis, circumstantial evidence, and anthropological analysis to positively identify Scott's remains on Nov. 28, 2022.

Scott will be buried at a veterans' cemetery in Wrightstown on Dec. 9. His name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Italy along with other servicemen missing from World War II, and the DPAA said a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.