The United States has confirmed the identification of the remains of a World War II fighter pilot who went missing after his aircraft was shot down over northern Thailand more than 80 years ago, bringing long-awaited closure to his family. The US Embassy in Thailand said that the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains as those of 1st Lt Franklin McKinney. He disappeared when his P-51 Mustang crashed in Lampang Province on 11 November 1944 during an air battle. The identification ends decades of uncertainty over his fate.

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According to the embassy, McKinney was one of 16 US fighter pilots who flew from southern China to strike Japanese military targets in northern Thailand during World War II. Their mission encountered five Royal Thai Air Force Ki-27 fighters that had taken off from Lampang Airport, leading to a dogfight later referred to as the “5 versus 16 Air Battle over Lampang”.

During the engagement, McKinney’s aircraft was shot down in mountainous terrain and he was listed as missing in action and presumed dead. The crash site was first identified in 2018, followed by several surveys. In March 2026, joint American and Thai teams located the remains after extensive historical research and field investigations. Excavation teams recovered aircraft wreckage and survival equipment believed to belong to the pilot, leading to the official identification.

The embassy said American and Thai teams worked closely with the Royal Thai Government, local authorities in Lampang, archaeologists, students from Thammasat University, and a UCLA partnership team. It described months of difficult work in remote terrain.

The embassy statement said, “After more than 80 years of uncertainty, 1st Lt McKinney is finally going home to his family,” and thanked Thai authorities and volunteers for their cooperation. Officials said the effort highlighted strong US-Thai collaboration in recovering wartime remains and providing closure to families of missing personnel.

Khaosod reported that the remains are expected to be returned to McKinney’s family following formal procedures. The DPAA said it will continue efforts to account for service members still missing from past conflicts, working with international partners in future recovery missions.

Picture courtesy of Khaosod

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Khaosod 30 June 2026

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That´s awesome. I know a US guy from Hawaii, that is in the group doing this work, and they have found a lot of people the last decade. They do a fantastic work!

When the USA fought Thailand. An account of the downing of an American plane over Thailand

43 minutes ago, trucking said:

When the USA fought Thailand. An account of the downing of an American plane over Thailand

Love the yarnhub channel, Thanks!

Shot down by Royal Thai Air Force fighters. A reminder that Thailand was not passive in its support for Japan during WW2.

17 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Shot down by Royal Thai Air Force fighters. A reminder that Thailand was not passive in its support for Japan during WW2.

Equally important to remember is not all Thai's supported Japan during WW2

After Japan invaded and occupied Thailand in 1941, the Thai government was forced to ally with Japan. However, covertly, Thailand was feeding intelligence to the Allies and helping American operations as part of the secret Free Thai Movement. The Thai ambassador to the US refused to deliver the declaration of war and helped establish "Free Thai Movement" a secret resistance network.

This is why they were not punished by the Allies like Germany and Japan were, other than returning land they acquired during the war.

1 hour ago, trucking said:

When the USA fought Thailand. An account of the downing of an American plane over Thailand

Saw that vid. Very good summary of that day when this man passed to the other side. I had no idea we actually had fighters in Thailand.

Additional Wiki article on above video

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Battle_Over_Lampang

1 hour ago, Sully_ said:

Equally important to remember is not all Thai's supported Japan during WW2

Even more important to remember that it was nearly 90 years ago and any involvement by Thailand of indeed any other country is neither here nor there these days

1 hour ago, Sully_ said:

Equally important to remember is not all Thai's supported Japan during WW2

After Japan invaded and occupied Thailand in 1941, the Thai government was forced to ally with Japan. However, covertly, Thailand was feeding intelligence to the Allies and helping American operations as part of the secret Free Thai Movement. The Thai ambassador to the US refused to deliver the declaration of war and helped establish "Free Thai Movement" a secret resistance network.

This is why they were not punished by the Allies like Germany and Japan were, other than returning land they acquired during the war.

Also, after WW2, Churchill wanted some payback for what Thailand did to the prisoners building the bridge on the River Kwai...the Thai Guards were more brutal than the Japanese (true), but the USA said no, because we wanted Thailand for airbases for us to keep an eye on China.

17 minutes ago, Taboo2 said:

Also, after WW2, Churchill wanted some payback for what Thailand did to the prisoners building the bridge on the River Kwai...the Thai Guards were more brutal than the Japanese (true), but the USA said no, because we wanted Thailand for airbases for us to keep an eye on China.

Thai involvement existed (as local guards, overseers, or in related labor), and some accounts note Thai brutality, but primary responsibility and the worst abuses are attributed to the Japanese military. The claim of Thai guards being “more brutal” is not a consensus historical view—it’s anecdotal and likely exaggerated for emphasis.

https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww2/pows/burma-thailand-railway/soldiers via Grok.

20 minutes ago, Taboo2 said:

Also, after WW2, Churchill wanted some payback for what Thailand did to the prisoners building the bridge on the River Kwai...the Thai Guards were more brutal than the Japanese (true), but the USA said no, because we wanted Thailand for airbases for us to keep an eye on China.

Would you like to back up your statement about Thai guards being more brutal than the Japanese to the POW's on Thai Burma Railway.

2 hours ago, Sully_ said:

After Japan invaded and occupied Thailand in 1941

The Thai government signed an armistice (allegedly by force), allowing Japanese troops to use Thai territory and railway infrastructure to rapidly advance down the Malay Peninsula and conquer Singapore from overland than to try a sea invasion that would likely have failed.

@lannahak The article is taken from multiple Thai media news reports.

Those reports are based on the statement post by the US Embassy, who posted this yesterday.

“ทำตามคำสัญญาอันทรงเกียรติของอเมริกาว่าจะ ‘ไม่ทิ้งใครไว้ข้างหลัง’: ในช่วงเดือนมีนาคมที่ผ่านมา ชาวอเมริกันและชาวไทยได้ทำงานร่วมกันจนค้นพบร่างของนักบินที่สูญหายในสมัยสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 ซึ่งเครื่องบินตกในลำปางเมื่อกว่า 80 ปีที่แล้ว เรารู้สึกเป็นเกียรติอย่างยิ่งที่จะประกาศว่า สำนักงานค้นหาเชลยศึกและผู้สูญหายของกระทรวงกลาโหมสหรัฐฯ (Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency: DPAA) ได้พิสูจน์อัตลักษณ์บุคคลของร่างดังกล่าวอย่างเป็นทางการแล้ว ว่าเป็นร้อยโท แฟรงคลิน แมคคินนีย์ หลังจากความคลุมเครือที่ยาวนานกว่า 80 ปี ในที่สุด ร้อยโท แมคคินนีย์ ก็ได้เวลาหวนคืนสู่ครอบครัวแล้ว

ขอขอบคุณรัฐบาลไทย เจ้าหน้าที่ท้องถิ่นในจังหวัดลำปาง ตลอดจนนักโบราณคดีและนักศึกษาจากมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ ที่้ทำงานเคียงบ่าเคียงไหล่กับ DPAA และทีมจากมหาวิทยาลัย UCLA เพื่อพาร้อยโท แมคคินนีย์ กลับบ้านสู่ครอบครัว อาสาสมัครชาวไทยและชาวอเมริกันเหล่านี้ดำเนินการค้นหาท่ามกลางโคลนตมในสภาพภูมิประเทศที่ยากลำบากเป็นเวลาหลายเดือน ความทุ่มเท ความเชี่ยวชาญ และการช่วยเหลืออย่างไม่ย่อท้อของทุกท่าน ได้นำความสงบสุขสู่ครอบครัวแมคคินนีย์ที่เฝ้าคอยมาตลอดหลายสิบปี อเมริกาขอขอบคุณพันธมิตรชาวไทยเป็นอย่างยิ่งค่ะ!

----------

Fulfilling America’s sacred promise to leave no-one behind. In March 2026, American and Thais working together found the remains of a missing World War II pilot whose plane crashed in Lampang Province over 80 years ago. We are profoundly honored to announce that the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has now officially identified the remains of 1st Lt. Franklin McKinney. After more than 80 years of uncertainty, 1st Lt. McKinney is finally going home to his family.

Thank you to the Royal Thai Government, local Lampang officials, and the archaeologists and students from Thammasat University, who worked side-by-side with DPAA and the UCLA partnership team to bring 1st Lt McKinney home to his family. These Thai and American volunteers worked for months in the mud to sift through the challenging terrain. Your dedication, expertise, and unwavering support helped to bring long-awaited peace to the McKinney family. America is grateful to our Thai Allies! #DPAA”

So if you have issue with the details then contact the US embassy.

3 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Shot down by Royal Thai Air Force fighters. A reminder that Thailand was not passive in its support for Japan during WW2.

Thailandculture insights

No, it was a mixed bag. The government determined it could not overcome the Japanese forces sent int Southeast Asia. The Free Thai resistance would fight along with the Allies to disrupt the Japanese and restore a Thai government. Thus following the war, the British had the outlook that Thailand was an enemy combatant nation and the Americans would see Thais having had little choice officially and having aided the Allies.

Post breaking forum rules removed @lannahak two posts and you are making demands. When you joined this forum, you agreed to the forum rules.

Rule 17.News articles are collected from recognised sources and may be consolidated or rewritten with AI assistance. Respectful discussion of the article content is welcome. Disrespectful comments about the articles, the use of AI, or the news team (e.g. “clickbait,” “slow news day,” mocking grammar, or AI taunts) are not permitted. Posts breaching this rule will be removed, and posting suspension or account closure may result.

2 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

Also, after WW2, Churchill wanted some payback for what Thailand did to the prisoners building the bridge on the River Kwai...the Thai Guards were more brutal than the Japanese (true), but the USA said no, because we wanted Thailand for airbases for us to keep an eye on China.

Clement Atlee, taking office in July 1945, was the prime minister at the end and after World War II until 1951.

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Even more important to remember that it was nearly 90 years ago and any involvement by Thailand of indeed any other country is neither here nor there these days

That certainly depends on how current nations and political parties use these events to obscure and advance their own causes. For example, the PRC has recently gone out of its way to celebrate how it defeated Japan during World War II. In fact, it was the KMT and the Republic of China that did the fighting, while Mao cowered in caves. Chiang-kai Shek lost his two best divisions in Burma because the allies insisted on their helping the British in a lost cause. Two divisions that could have made a difference in the Civil War. Similarly Thailand used its alliance with Japan to annex and occupy parts of French Indochina. It was not an innocent forced to do that.

4 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Shot down by Royal Thai Air Force fighters. A reminder that Thailand was not passive in its support for Japan during WW2.

But the US didn't want to punish Thailand, even saying they were not at war..unlike the Brits that made them give up 150 million tons of rice to Malaya and put a block on any canal through kra istamus under the anglo thai treaty

3 hours ago, John Drake said:

Clement Atlee, taking office in July 1945, was the prime minister at the end and after World War II until 1951.

Just highlights someone doesn't know what they are talking about.

4 hours ago, John Drake said:

In fact, it was the KMT and the Republic of China that did the fighting, while Mao cowered in caves. Chiang-kai Shek lost his two best divisions in Burma because the allies insisted on their helping the British in a lost cause.

Wasn't the lost cause, as you put it, to keep supplies to the Chinese going from India to China via Burma. Enlighten us as to how supplies would otherwise have reached the KMT? Agree with the bit about Mao not taking part in the fight.

Interesting that the crash site wasn't identified until 2018. I wonder if locals in Lampang were aware of the wreckage for decades, but never communicated its existence to Thai authorities? Or maybe the Thai authorities knew of its presence, but kept quiet because it involves a sensitive time in the country's history (Japan's Occupation).

2 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Interesting that the crash site wasn't identified until 2018. I wonder if locals in Lampang were aware of the wreckage for decades, but never communicated its existence to Thai authorities? Or maybe the Thai authorities knew of its presence, but kept quiet because it involves a sensitive time in the country's history (Japan's Occupation).

There is wreckage in Europe that comes to light decades later so I imagine the problem in Thailand is a hundred times worse. If the site very remote, would the locals have even known about it? I suppose the Thai air force must have had it recorded as a kill if the aircraft was seen to crash. But would that necessarily been the case?

11 hours ago, Sully_ said:

Equally important to remember is not all Thai's supported Japan during WW2

After Japan invaded and occupied Thailand in 1941, the Thai government was forced to ally with Japan. However, covertly, Thailand was feeding intelligence to the Allies and helping American operations as part of the secret Free Thai Movement. The Thai ambassador to the US refused to deliver the declaration of war and helped establish "Free Thai Movement" a secret resistance network.

This is why they were not punished by the Allies like Germany and Japan were, other than returning land they acquired during the war.

The U.S. didn't spend the post-war years looking for revenge.

If that had been the goal, Germany and Japan would never have received massive American aid, security guarantees and support to rebuild their economies.

The Free Thai Movement certainly help Thailand, but the U.S. policy after WWII was reconciliation and rebuilding, not punishing former enemies.

Thailand, Germany, Italy and Japan all eventually became American allies because that served U.S. strategic interests far better than retaliation.

2 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

Wasn't the lost cause, as you put it, to keep supplies to the Chinese going from India to China via Burma. Enlighten us as to how supplies would otherwise have reached the KMT? Agree with the bit about Mao not taking part in the fight.

The Burma Road was cut by the Japanese. The alternative, the building of the Ledo Road to connect further north with the old Burma Road, wasn't completed and the first convoy passed through until January 1945. The entire Burma campaign, IMO, was a fiasco. Chiang had those two divisions eaten up and annihilated for nothing, because the Allies were fighting a 19th century ground war in Burma--occupy and hold territory, whereas the entire campaign in the Pacific and New Guinea had already adapted to fast moving tactics. Island hopping in the Pacific and territorial hopping in New Guinea.

10 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

Also, after WW2, Churchill wanted some payback for what Thailand did to the prisoners building the bridge on the River Kwai...the Thai Guards were more brutal than the Japanese (true), but the USA said no, because we wanted Thailand for airbases for us to keep an eye on China.

I am aware Korean guards were brutal.

Will await clarity re. the role of Thai guards, if any.

10 minutes ago, greeneking said:

I am aware Korean guards were brutal.

Will await clarity re. the role of Thai guards, if any.

Off topic posts and replies trolling about Trump have been removed.

An off topic video about a WW2 convoy passing through an English village has been removed.

2 hours ago, John Drake said:

The Burma Road was cut by the Japanese. The alternative, the building of the Ledo Road to connect further north with the old Burma Road, wasn't completed and the first convoy passed through until January 1945. The entire Burma campaign, IMO, was a fiasco. Chiang had those two divisions eaten up and annihilated for nothing, because the Allies were fighting a 19th century ground war in Burma--occupy and hold territory, whereas the entire campaign in the Pacific and New Guinea had already adapted to fast moving tactics. Island hopping in the Pacific and territorial hopping in New Guinea.

So you suggestion was to do what exactly? "Chiang had those two divisions eaten up and annihilated for nothing" Were it not for the Atom bomb isn't that exactly what would have happened once Japan was invaded?

1 hour ago, greeneking said:

I am aware Korean guards were brutal.

Will await clarity re. the role of Thai guards, if any.

Correct, my mistake, Korean guards were brutal to the prisoners.