Missing U.S. airman is accounted for 79 years after bomber "Queen Marlene" shot down in France

A U.S. Army Air Force gunner's remains have been accounted for nearly eight decades after the heavy bomber he was flying in was shot down over France during World War II, military officials said Monday.

Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, Florida, was identified in July by scientists who used anthropological and DNA analysis, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release.

Hall was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater in January 1944, officials said. The airman was the left waist gunner on a B-24D Liberator called "Queen Marlene" when it was attacked by German air forces near Équennes-Éramecourt, France.