Remains of Idaho fighter pilot killed in WWII coming home

A World War II pilot from Lewiston, killed in action over Italy, will be laid to rest on Aug. 2 in his hometown.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Thursday that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Allan W. Knepper, 27, was accounted for Aug. 10, 2023. However, his family only recently received their full briefing on his identification and made funeral plans, according to a DPAA news release.

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 July 10, 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 Knepper. These remains were then sent to the DPAA laboratory for examination and identification, according to the news release.

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.

Knepper’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission 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.

Knepper will be buried in Lewiston on Aug. 2.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490.

In the release, DPAA thanked the ABMC and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission. DPAA also thanked Bob Richardson and Salvo Fagone for their assistance with research related to finding Knepper’s crash site.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at dpaa.mil .