The remains of a US military aviator who went missing after his crew crashed during the Second World War have been recovered and identified through DNA analysis, with his family recently laying him to rest in Florida, according to officials.
Decades-Long Mystery Resolved
US Navy airman Robert Cyr Jr’s burial in Clearwater, Florida, brought an end to a saga that began on 22 January 1944. On that day, Cyr and eight fellow crewmates crashed aboard a seaplane as it took off in the Segond Channel, in what is now the Republic of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Three aviators survived; four were recovered in the days following the wreck; and Cyr, then aged 19, was one of two who remained missing even after the war concluded, US military officials stated.
Underwater Investigations and Recovery
Researchers and divers from Sealark Exploration located and documented the wreck site in July 2022 during an underwater investigation conducted at the behest of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which dedicates itself to identifying US military personnel unaccounted for after past conflicts. The DPAA said a second group working with the agency, Cosmos Archaeology, later excavated the site on separate occasions in June 2024 and May 2025. These efforts yielded possible human remains and bone tissue.
Armed forces medical examiner system scientists subsequently used mitochondrial DNA analysis to conclude the remains were those of Cyr, the DPAA said. The agency also noted that its scientists employed anthropological analysis along with material and circumstantial evidence to strengthen the identification of Cyr.
Funeral and Family Relief
The military held a funeral for Cyr on Saturday in the Tampa, Florida, suburb of Clearwater, where his relatives reside. After a service featuring a flag-draped casket, rifle volleys, and the playing of taps, family members described a sense of relief in being able to bury Cyr with military honours. His niece, Chickee Gould, told Florida news outlet WTVT that Cyr’s mother never stopped believing he was out there “somewhere”. Meanwhile, Gould’s son, Don Teague, added: “That’s the main thing – people don’t give up. And you don’t realize how hard they’re still looking after 80 years.”
Military Honours and Legacy
The various military citations Cyr earned include a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, and Second World War Victory Medal, according to an online obituary. His name had been listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. As per protocol, officials plan to place a rosette next to Cyr’s name, indicating he has been accounted for.
Cyr was born in Philadelphia and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, before serving in the US Navy during the Second World War. In a newspaper interview before his disappearance, Cyr described himself as an aviation radioman who enlisted at age 17 and had covered about 112,000 miles on patrol flights in South-West Pacific combat areas. He also recounted witnessing part of the Battle for the Solomon Islands from the air. “Our regular job is to spot the enemy’s position, course and probably objective and then get out of there if possible,” Cyr said at the time. He reported losing 40 compatriots in patrol flights over the Solomon and Santa Cruz islands and estimated that his patrol squadron saved more than 35 fellow aviators by picking them up after they had been forced down at sea.
Cyr’s survivors included his parents and his sister, all of whom died before the recovery of his remains, his obituary said. Gould remarked to WTVT that the thought of Cyr “going to be with his mother” brought her a measure of comfort. “That’s, to us, the most important,” she said.
