Eighty years after he was killed in action during World War II, the remains of a Beaumont serviceman have finally been brought home.
On Feb. 20, Patriot Guard Riders, the Beaumont Police Department, additional law enforcement agencies, and volunteer veterans escorted the remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Frank Alfred Johnstone back to Beaumont. Johnstone had been missing since World War II and was officially identified on Feb. 6, 2025, by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
A full military graveside service was conducted Feb. 26 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 4955 Pine St., in Beaumont. The public was invited to attend, and surviving family members were present to witness the long-awaited homecoming. Johnstone was laid to rest beside his parents in the burial plot they reserved for him in 1945. Even amid the uncertainty of war, his parents held firmly to the belief that their son would one day return home, ensuring a place beside them would always be waiting.
Johnstone left the University of Texas in 1943, where he had been active in athletics, to join the Army Air Corps. He trained at Ellington and Sheppard Fields before being stationed at a California airfield. In September 1944, he deployed overseas and served with the 721st Bombardment Squadron, 450th Bombardment Group.
On Feb. 25, 1945, the 20-year-old navigator was aboard a B-24 Liberator that departed Manduria, Italy, on a bombing mission targeting marshalling yards in Linz, Austria. While over the target, the aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire and crashed near Grobraming, Austria. Of the 12 crew members on board, nine parachuted to safety. Three were killed in the crash, but at the time, only one set of remains was recovered and identified.
After the war, the American Graves Registration Command worked to locate and recover missing American personnel across Europe. Investigators later uncovered discrepancies involving remains recovered from Grobraming, leaving two sets unidentified for decades.
In 2013, investigators reopened the case and returned to the crash site. Excavations conducted in 2017 and 2018 by teams from the University of Maryland and the University of Vienna recovered aircraft wreckage, material evidence, and possible human remains. Through modern forensic analysis, scientists were ultimately able to identify 2nd Lt. Johnstone. For years, his name was inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in France. A rosette now marks his name, signifying that he has been accounted for.
U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Frank Alfred Johnstone was the son of John and Margaret Johnstone, both now deceased. For those in the community who may remember the family, he had four older siblings: Jennie (1908–1989), John B. (1915–1992), Malcolm (1918–1993), and Thomas (1920–1930), all of whom have also passed away.
After eight decades, 2nd Lt. Frank Alfred Johnstone has finally returned home.
