WWII pilot from Idaho accounted for 80 years after his P-38 "Lightning" was shot down

2nd Lt. Allan W. Knepper took off from Tunisia in his P-38 "Lightning" jet as "one of many fighter waves" set to attack enemy Axis forces in Sicily, Italy on July 10, 1943.

During the attack, air forces were dispatched every 30 minutes, dodging enemy fire as they strafed an armored German column.

Knepper, 27, and the 49th Fighter Squadron encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Another pilot reported witnessing his plane "veer suddenly skyward before rolling halfway over and plummeting to the ground." No evidence was found that he deployed his parachute, and Knepper was declared missing in action, his remains never found.