Nando Angelo Cavalieri

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Air Forces Capt. Nando A. Cavalieri, 24, of Chicago, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for July 27, 2021.

In February 1945, Cavalieri was assigned to 324th Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in the European Theater. On Feb. 3, the B-17G Flying Fortress bomber on which he was serving as bombardier was flying a mission over Berlin when it was struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The plane broke into two pieces in the air and crashed. Cavalieri’s bomber was one of 21 bombers to be lost during the mission. German forces reportedly recovered his body and ID tags after the crash and buried him in Döberitz, Germany, on Feb. 7.

Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They recovered all of the American remains buried in Döberitz, but were unable to identify Cavalieri. He was declared non-recoverable on Oct. 23, 1951.

Between 2016 and 2018, DPAA historians completed a comprehensive research project focused on the eight sets of unknown remains recovered from Döberitz. As a result, one set of remains, designated X-4983 Neuville, was determined to be a strong candidate for association with Cavalieri. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in Belgium, were disinterred in June 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

To identify Cavalieri’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Cavalieri’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margraten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Cavalieri will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

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