The Department of Central Management Services has received notice from Governor Bruce Rauner’s Office, that all persons or entities covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act are to fly the flags at half-staff, in honor and remembrance of
2nd Lt. Stephen B. Biezis
United States Army Air Forces
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Gary Tresenriter, City of Morrison, IL, Director of Public Services, requested United States and Illinois flags at City-owned property to be flown at half-staff until end of the work day, Friday, August 14, 2015.
The remains of a serviceman missing since World War II, Stephen V. Biezis of Chicago, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial, with
full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D. C. On December 23, 1944, Biezis and his crew of five were assigned to the 575th Bombardment Squadron, 391st Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force and were deployed to Germany. Biezis was the co-pilot of a B-26C Marauder that crashed after being struck by enemy fire, while on a bombing mission against enemy forces near Ahrweiler, Germany. Biezis, and four other crew members were reported killed in action. His remains were not recovered during the war.
On May 27, 1999, a team investigating World War II losses in Germany visited a crash site near Bettenfeld. Two German nationals had researched the crash site, showed the team artifacts that were found, and turned over remains collected from the site. Those remains were identified as Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Joe R. Sanchez, 20, of Los Nietos, CA. He was accounted for in March 2011, and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Department of Defense teams traveled to Bettenfeld and conducted operations at the crash site. To identify Biezis’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools to include mitochondrial DNA, which matched his sister and cousin.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict.
