Reuters
Since a C-124 Globemaster crashed over Alaska in 1952, the remains of its 11 crew members and 41 passengers have been missing. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced it had recovered the remains of 17 of the service members from the crash, which will be returned to their families for burial with military honors. When the plane crashed en route to Elmendorf Air Force Base, bad weather prevented an immediate recovery and search parties that year were unable to find the bodies. In 2012, a helicopter crew spotted the wreckage, and since then recovery operations have been conducted to find as much in the wreckage as possible. Scientists at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory were able to use forensic and circumstantial evidence to identify 17 of the service members. The remaining passengers have yet to be recovered.