US identifies remains of WW2 tank commander killed in 1944

The US says it has identified the remains of a World War Two tank commander who was killed fighting in Germany in November 1944.

Lt Gene F Walker was battling Nazi forces near the German-Belgian border when his M4 Sherman was struck by an anti-tank round.

His crew escaped the blast, but were prevented from recovering his body by heavy fighting.

But almost 79 years later, US military researchers have identified the tanker.

Lt Walker, who hailed from the state of Indiana and was 27 when he died, had been fighting with the 3rd Armored Division at the time of his death. Under the command of Gen Omar Bradley, the division was helping to spearhead the incursion into the German heartland from Belgium.

The young tanker died as US forces pushed forward and was killed on impact after an anti-tank munition struck his vehicle near the town of Hücheln.

"The hit caused a fire and is believed to have killed Walker instantaneously," the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), an organisation tasked with identifying missing war dead, said.