03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" -- is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been
held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War
but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27,
1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department
of Defense.
The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the
"sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the
archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were
repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese
radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and
all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still
lists them as "unaccounted for".
Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background. Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
03/12/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
On June 10, 1952, B-29A Superfortress (tail number 44-61967A) carrying fourteen crew members took off from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, on a bombing mission against enemy targets in North Korea. The bomber reached the target area without incident and began its attack on a railroad bridge. While making its bombing run, the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Other pilots flying the mission heard a radio call, believed to be from this B-29, stating "bombs away," before radio contact was lost. When this Superfortress was reported overdue at its home base the morning of June 11, an aerial search was immediately initiated but failed to locate the missing aircraft or its crew.
First Lieutenant Wilbur Eugene Lewis entered the U.S. Air Force from Illinois and was assigned to the 30th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 19th Bombardment Wing. He was the navigator aboard this Superfortress when it was lost. No returning POWs mentioned contact with 1st Lt Lewis, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, First Lieutenant Lewis is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.
1st Lt WILBUR EUGENE LEWIS
- Unit
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Country of Loss
- Home of Record