Remains of missing pilot may have been found
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
According to a Sept. 14 article by reporter Mike Barber in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle, Wash., the remains of Lt. Kenneth W. Ambrose, a native of Lincolnville, may have been found.
His fighter plane went down in rough terrain in Washington in November 1942, during World War II while on a trip from Alaska to visit his wife, Marguerite, and their newborn daughter, Kathleen, in California.
The plane's location remained a mystery for almost 60 years until hikers discovered the wreckage.
Follow-up visits and research by another hiker established the plane's identification.
An article in the Oct. 23, 2003, issue of Marion County Record covered the story as reported by Barber in the P-I.
According to Barber's follow-up article, a forensic team sent by the Army's Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hawaii, last month recovered human remains at the crash site.
The remains were flown to Hawaii for a repatriation ceremony Sept. 14 with military honors. However, the Army won't confirm the remains are those of Ambrose until all forensic tests are completed.
Barber said when Marguerite and Kathleen were contacted, they were surprised to hear the remains had been found. The two women now live in Pennsylvania. Kathleen told Barber she hopes she can help identify her father's remains through an official DNA match.
"Now we have to give a little thought to what we want to do next," Kathleen said. Wife and daughter are considering having the remains interred at Lincolnville or in California.
