Skeleton On the Beach

[kaki3152]

It isn't often that Human remains are detailed in MACRs since these reports were generated during the war, before the huge post war MIA services started operating. This report quoted was the last page of MACR 15xxx,which was one of the MACRS generated postwar.

The plane was B-24D, Sn 41-11763, 345th SQ, 98th BG. It was downed on August 21,1942 off Gadnos Island, southwest of Crete, by Bf-110s of III/ZG-26. The pilot was 1st Lt. Frank M. Newton, who was destined to be one of the earliest POWs. Lt. Newton was one of two survivors, the other being the bombardier, Lt. James Alexander. The rest of the crew was KIA/MIA, including the Tail Gunner, Sgt. Shirley Carter, s/n 11042766.

"ID tag ASN 11042766 Etc. was found on beach near Gambut, Libya besides skeleton, approx. 6 July 1944,. When detail returned next day, sea apparently reclaimed the skeleton. Request was made for grave assignation in USMC, Heliopolis, Egypt. Disallowed because no actual remains were at hand for burial. Alll other members of crew are carried as X293 cases."

[Alex Smart]

What is the reference "R-591" on the macr pages referring to ?

Also the report of the skeleton , note made of a nail missing from the right hand suggests it was more than a skeleton. Or was it already known that he had a finger on his right hand that had no nail ?