Tuskegee Airman to be laid to rest 79 years after disappearing

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U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Fred Brewer Jr., a Tuskegee Airman who vanished during WWII, will be laid to rest on Dec. 6 in North Carolina.

Tuskegee Airman Fred Brewer Jr vanished

In 1944, Brewer was a member of the revered Tuskegee Airmen when he vanished while escorting a bomber on a raid over Germany. He was 23 years old.

Brewer had reportedly been attempting to climb his airplane out of the cloud cover when he stalled and fell into a spin.

Remains were recovered after the war in a civilian cemetery in the area, but technology at the time was unable to identify them. So they were interred as an unknown.

Forensics lead to identification

Almost 79 years later, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Brewer’s remains were identified earlier this year using forensic analysis and he will finally be laid to rest.

A native of Charlotte, Brewer graduated from Shaw University in 1942. He enlisted in the Army the following year and trained as a pilot at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama.

He will be laid to rest at the Salisbury National Cemetery in Charlotte.

According to a report by WSOC TV, the celebration of life of Fred Brewer Jr will take place Dec. 6th at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church before his burial.