SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Airman who died during World War II has been accounted for, as experts worked for years to locate and identify his remains.
U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Elvin L. Phillips, 23, was born on August 20, 1919, in Midvale. He graduated from Granite High School and later enlisted in the air corps.
He was assigned to the the 66th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force in the summer of 1943.
On August 1, 1943, Sgt. Philips was serving as a gunner when the B-24 Liberator aircraft he was on crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Romania.
In a letter sent to the Philips family at the time of his death, Brigadier General Uzal G. Ent wrote that Philips was "one of the great heroes of this war."
"Sgt. Philips is one of the great heroes of this war, his name has been indelibly written in our country's history," an excerpt of the letter reads in a newspaper. "I am the proudest commander in the world, no commander has ever had a braver, more efficient force than the once which bombed the Rumanian oil refineries on August 1, 1943."
His remains were not identified at the time of his death and were buried as "Unknowns" in Romania.
After the war, the American Graves Registration Command disinterred American remains from the Cemetery but they were unable to identify more than 80 "unknowns."
It wasn't until 2017, when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began investigating remains associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses, that Sgt. Philips was accounted for.
He was accounted for in March 2022, however, officials say the family recently received the full briefing about his identification, which is why the public is only just learning about the development.
Officials say Sgt. Philips will be buried in Bluffdale and a rosette will be placed next to his name on the Tablets of the Missing in Italy to signify he has been accounted for.
