Homecoming: MIA World War II veteran Sgt. Howard F. Gotts returns to rest

After more than 76 years, MIA World War II veteran Sgt. Howard F. Gotts, U.S. Army Air Force, is home at last.

Surrounded by Army National Guard Honor Guard officers, members of the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, Patriot Guard New York, American Legion Post 256 Canandaigua, American Legion Post 34 Shortsville, the Marine Corps League, state and local officials and a host of extended family and friends, Stg. Gotts’ descendants finally received the closure they’d waited 76 years to experience.

It was on the morning of Aug. 1, 1943, that Sgt. Gotts's plane was shot down over Romania in the final wave of Operation TIDAL WAVE, the first large-scale, low-altitude attack by U.S. heavy bomber aircraft upon a well-defended target.

An estimated 225 servicemen perished in Operation TIDAL WAVE, but the Romanians could identify only 27 at the time. Through DNA analysis, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Agency notified St. Gotts' family on June 24, 2019, that his remains had been identified and he would be brought home.

In this poignant moment Monday, Army Ranger Major Brian Kent —Sgt. Gotts’ nephew — presents the service flag to family members at the Labor Day ceremony in which Sgt. Gotts was laid to rest in his family’s gravesite at Sand Hill Cemetery in Stanley.

Sgt. Gotts was buried with full military honors.

Thank you, sir, for your service.

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