City Welcomes Remains of Native WWII Airman Home to Bonaventure Cemetery
SAVANNAH – This week, the City of Savannah will welcome home the remains of Savannah native 2Lt. Milton Leonard Hymes, Jr. who was killed in combat during a bombing mission in World War II.
Lt. Hymes will be interred with full military honors on Friday, July 18 at 10 a.m. next to his parents in Section P of the Bonaventure Cemetery. Graveside services will be conducted by Gamble Funeral Service with Rabbi Robert Haas of Congregation Mickve Israel officiating.
Lt. Hymes joined the U.S. Army Air Forces (the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force), serving as a navigator with the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division of the Mighty 8th Air Force in the European Theater. During a bombing run on June 20, 1944, Lt. Hymes B-24J “Liberator” bomber collided with another B-24 in his formation and crashed into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark.
The 22-year-old navigator was entombed at the crash site until archaeologists recovered his remains during underwater excavations between 2022 and 2024. Research from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System were able to use dental records as well as DNA analysis to accurately identify Lt. Hymes’ remains.
He was officially accounted for on Nov. 21, 2024. Lt. Hymes’ name is recorded on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge England after the U.S. War Department declared him non-recoverable on May 12, 1950. A rosette will be placed next to his name in Cambridge to indicate he has been accounted for.
The Hymes family has approved the public and media to attend the funeral service. Those wishing to pay their respects may welcome the procession, led by the Patriot Guard Riders, as they enter the Jewish gate of Bonaventure Cemetery and travel down Sheftall Way at approximately 9:30 a.m.
There will be limited space for non-family guests closer to the gravesite. All guests must maintain a quiet and respectful demeanor during the service.
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