METUCHEN – It’s the U.S. government’s promise to those who have lost loved ones in war – it will never stop searching for those missing or killed in action.
That promise has finally come true for the family of Army Air Force Sgt. Michael Ugrin, killed almost 80 years ago in October 1943 during the Schweinfurt Raid over Germany in WWII.
His remains were identified on May 12, the Prisoner of War Records Agency/MIA (DPAA) announced on Tuesday.
Ugrin, who was 21 at the time of his death, will be buried in Metuchen, with a date yet to be set. He is among 31 residents of the town who died during the Second World War.
Son of John J. and Mary Ugrin, Urin lived on Central Avenue before he went to war.
His older brother, Cpl. Joseph J. Urin was accidentally killed at Orlando Air Force Base in January 1943. Another brother, Private George Urin, was stationed in India and siblings John, Anna, Mary and Helen were at home at the time he was reported missing.
Ugrin graduated from Middlesex County Vocational School in 1939. Before entering the Army in August 1942, he worked for the Celotex Corporation. After a year of training in the state, Urin was sent abroad in September 1943.
In October 1943, Urin was assigned to the 369th Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 40th Fighter Wing, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater of Operations. On October 14, the B-17F Flying Fortress bomber in which he was the radio operator was flying to Schweinfurt, Germany, from Turley, England.
During the mission the aircraft was shot down by Nazi fighters near Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim, Hesse, Germany.
On a day that became known as “Black Thursday”, the Ugrin bomber was one of 60 aircraft lost.
Ugrin’s commander said that Ugrin had not been assigned to the plane before. Although he was trained as a radio operator, Ugrin volunteered to replace him as a gunner.
Several of his friends who participated in the mission reported seeing the downed plane and crew members who were parachuted out.
Surviving B-17 crew members said Ugrin died before the plane crashed and no one witnessed him bailing out. Seven of the 10 crew members who got out were taken prisoner, but three others on board were found dead.
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Their remains could not be found at that time.
Ugrin’s death was confirmed shortly after the crash, but there was no word on where he was buried.
After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and locating missing American personnel in Europe. He investigated around Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim, but was unable to find any concrete evidence of Ugrin. In April 1955, it was declared beyond repair.
But DPAA historians never give up. Eight decades after the war, they are conducting a long-term comprehensive study of air losses over Germany.
AGRC staff investigated the crash site in the area of Rommelhausen and Langenbergheim and determined that it was where an American plane had died that had been shot down on the same day Urin was shot down. Human remains from the wreck site were buried in a local cemetery, but could not be identified at the time.
Later, one set of remains, identified as X-1660 St. Avold, was identified as a strong candidate for Ugrin.
The remains, which were buried at Ardennes American Cemetery, the American War Memorial Commission cemetery in Belgium, were exhumed in June 2021. They were sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
DPAA scientists used dental and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence to identify Ugrin’s remains.
In addition, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosomal DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
His family only recently received full information on the case, DPAA officials said.
Ugrin is commemorated on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, the site of the American War Memorial Commission in England, along with other World War II missing in action. A check mark will be placed next to his name to indicate that he has been found.
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning film and education reporter for theMyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or@CherylMakin. For unlimited access, sign up or activate your digital account today.
