ECU research helps identify WWII airman missing since 1944

ECU research helps identify WWII airman missing since 1944

GREENVILLE, N.C. (11/4/2026) - East Carolina University researchers contributed to efforts that led to the recovery and identification of Staff Sgt. Given C. Grooms, a 21-year-old World War II airman from Spargursville, Ohio, whose aircraft was shot down over Italy in 1944. Grooms was officially accounted for on June 9, 2026, and his identification was announced Oct. 7, bringing closure to his descendants more than 80 years after his death.

"It was a very challenging, yet rewarding mission, and one we are proud to say we played a role in for the closure of a lost family member," said Dr. Jennifer McKinnon, director of ECU's Program in Maritime Studies and a professor of history in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, whose research led to Grooms' discovery.

In 2017, ECU began a partnership with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Partnership and Innovations Directorate (DPAA). ECU's maritime studies program supports the important efforts to locate evidence at challenging sites associated with missing U.S. service members by providing its expertise in archaeological field methods and specialized survey technologies.

Through this collaboration, McKinnon, other ECU faculty and students, and international researchers work closely with the agency to carry out its mission to provide the fullest possible accounting of missing U.S. service personnel to their families and the nation. This mission involves the investigation, correlation, excavation and recovery of sites associated with combat losses of past U.S. conflicts.

Grooms served with the 718th Bombardment Squadron, 449th Bombardment Group, in Italy during WWII. Grooms was the radio operator aboard a U.S. Army Air Forces B-24H Liberator Heavy Bomber sent on a mission to Udine, Italy, when it was shot down Jan. 30, 1944, near the Isle of Morgo, Italy, just east of Venice. Three of the 10 total crew members escaped before the aircraft crashed, but only one survived - Staff Sgt. Harvey Gann, who was the flight engineer.

ECU and McKinnon's first mission assisting the DPAA began in 2018 at the site in Italy.

"Because of the wet environment and the potential for submerged wreckage, our program was chosen as the partner," McKinnon said.

In February 2018, McKinnon, Dr. Nathan Richards and maritime studies graduate student Sarah Parkin ('19), traveled to Italy. They partnered with Italian archaeologist Dr. Massimiliano Secci, Italian specialist Dr. Alberto Lezziero, who had knowledge of the local waters and remote sensing technology, and Dr. Ian Moffat, a well-known Australian geophysicist. The team adapted ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and metal detection technologies typically used on land for use on the water.

The tools allowed the team to map the site and location of the remains of the aircraft, and their preliminary investigation revealed a complex and highly dispersed site after years of farming and recreational hunting practices. But the weather also made the research difficult.

ECU's 2018 survey helped the DPAA identify promising locations for evidence recovery, informing archaeological excavations conducted from 2022 through 2025 that ultimately led to the recovery of remains and Grooms' identification. Scientists used anthropological and dental examinations along with mitochondrial DNA, Y chromosome DNA and autosomal DNA testing as part of the identification process.

"Sometimes it can take a couple of decades from finding the site to recovery, depending on the complexity of the loss," McKinnon said. "In this case, it took less."

In October, Grooms was returned home to his family in Ohio. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Mount Latham Cemetery, in Waverly, Ohio, on Oct. 10.

Contact: Dr. Jennifer McKinnon, director of the Program in Maritime Studies and professor of history, [email protected], 252-328-6788

###

East Carolina University News Services
Howard House, 1001 E. Fifth Street
Greenville, NC 27858
[email protected]
Phone: 252-328-6481
www.ecu.edu/news