Fallen WWII veteran makes final journey home to Houston
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A World War II Army pilot has finally finished his long journey home to Houston, 70 years after he went missing.
Army Air Forces Flight Officer Judson B. Baskett, who was 25 when he went missing during a flight from Singapore to Malaysia on November 27, 1945, will finally be buried Friday in his hometown.
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The soldier's remains landed at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday. Police escorted the remains to a local funeral home.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, a government organization which seeks to find missing service members, says Baskett will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Baskett was assigned to 1305th Army Air Force Base Unit when the C-47B aircraft he was piloting went missing on a cargo run, along with two crew members. The Army didn't find a crash site at the time, and the pilot and crew were eventually declared dead.
In 1966, 2010, and 2012, efforts were made recover the plane. In August and September 2015, a joint Malaysian-U.S. team excavated the crash site, recovering possible remains. Scientists used dental records to help identify Baskett.
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