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On June 10, 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant James D. Cartwright, missing from World War II.

Staff Sergeant Cartwright, who entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Missouri, served with the 39th Observation Squadron. On June 8, 1941, SSG Cartwright was a passenger aboard an O-47A (serial number 37-289), an observation aircraft that took off from France Field, Panama, carrying a pilot and one other passenger for a flight to Rio Hato, Panama. During the mission, the aircraft crashed for unknown reasons, killing SSG Cartwright. When the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination, an air and ground search was initiated but was unable to locate this O-47A or the remains of its crew. In 1999, a Panamanian citizen reported to Panamanian Civil Aeronautics (PCA) that while hunting in the mountains of Panama Province, he discovered aircraft wreckage sitting in a canal within a dense jungle, with the three crew members' remains still inside. After a PCA Search and Rescue team surveyed the site, the discovery was reported to JPAC specialists who also surveyed the area and confirmed the crash site and wreckage was consistent with the lost O-47A. In 2002, JPAC excavated the site and recovered human remains and crew-related artifacts, and JPAC forensic analysts identified SSG Cartwright from among the recovered remains.

Staff Sergeant Cartwright is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the East Coast Memorial in New York City.

Unit 39 OBSERVATION SQUADRON
Country of Loss Panama
Home of Record MO

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/607616/airmen-missing-from-world-war-ii-identified-allen-cartwright-stubbs/

Press Release | Oct. 6, 2005

Airmen Missing From World War II Identified (Allen, Cartwright, Stubbs)

The remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing in action since 1941, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Army Air Forces Second Lieutenant Augustus J. Allen, of Myrtle Springs, Texas, Staff Sergeant James D. Cartwright, of Los Angeles, Calif., and Corporal Paul R. Stubbs, of Haverhill, Mass.

On June 8, 1941, Allen, Cartwright and Stubbs departed France Field, Panama in an O-47A aircraft, en route to Rio Hato, Panama. When the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination, a search was initiated by both air and ground forces, but with negative results.

In April 1999, a Panamanian citizen reported to Panamanian Civil Aeronautics (PCA) he had discovered aircraft wreckage while hunting in the mountains of Panama Province, Republic of Panama. After a PCA Search and Rescue team surveyed the site, it was reported to the Joint POW Accounting Command (JPAC). JPAC specialists surveyed the area in August 1999, and excavated the site in February 2002 where they recovered remains and crew-related artifacts. The crash site was along Allen’s suspected flight path, and the aircraft was consistent with O-47A aircraft from the 39th Observation Squadron, their assigned unit. Additionally, the team recovered crew-related items at the site which helped confirm the identity of the airmen.

Scientists of JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab used mitochondrial DNA as one of the tools in the identification of the remains of Allen, Cartwright and Stubbs.

James D Cartwright