2nd. Lt. Allan Knepper, World War II P-38 pilot, accounted for

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced recently that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Allan W. Knepper, 27, of Lewiston, Idaho, killed during World War II, was accounted for August 10, 2023.

In summer 1943, Knepper was a pilot with the 49th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of World War II. On July 10, Knepper departed El Bathan Airfield, Tunisia, in his P-38 “Lightning” as one of many fighter waves assigned to attack enemy forces near Caltagirone, Italy, and neutralize Axis air powers.

In attempts to obstruct Axis movements from the island’s interior toward the beach where Allied forces were landing, U.S. air forces were dispatched every 30 minutes throughout the day. Knepper’s squadron encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire, and another pilot witnessed Knepper’s aircraft veer suddenly skyward before rolling halfway over and plummeting to the ground.

There was no witness of any deployed parachute following the crash, and it was believed he was still in the plane when it crashed. Knepper’s remains were not recovered, and he was subsequently declared missing in action.

DPAA researchers located a German report at the U.S. National Archives, dated 10 July 1943, which reports two American “Lightning” aircraft were shot down and crashed west and southwest of Caltagirone. Between 2015 and 2023, the Department of Defense and its partners researched, investigated, and excavated a crash site near Caltagirone, recovering material evidence and remains that are believed to be associated with 2nd. Lt. Knepper. These remains were then sent to the DPAA laboratory for examination and identification.

To identify Knepper’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

2nd Lt. Knepper’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, an ABMC site in Nettuno, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

2nd Lt. Knepper will be buried in Lewiston, Idaho, on Aug. 2, 2024.