US thanks Thailand for mission to return WWII pilot Franklin McKinney

The United States has thanked Thailand for joining a mission to bring home 1st Lt Franklin McKinney, an American World War II pilot whose aircraft crashed in Lampang more than 80 years ago.

On June 29, 2026, the US Embassy in Thailand said via its Facebook page, “US Embassy Bangkok”, that the mission fulfilled America’s solemn promise to “leave no one behind”.

The embassy said that in March, Americans and Thais had worked together to discover the remains of a pilot missing since the Second World War, after his aircraft crashed in Lampang more than eight decades ago.

“We are deeply honoured to announce that the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, has officially identified the remains as those of 1st Lt Franklin McKinney. After more than 80 years of uncertainty, it is finally time for 1st Lt McKinney to return to his family,” the embassy said.

The US Embassy thanked the Thai government, local authorities in Lampang, as well as archaeologists and students from Thammasat University, who worked side by side with the DPAA and a team from the University of California, Los Angeles, to bring 1st Lt McKinney home to his family.

“These Thai and American volunteers carried out the search through mud and difficult terrain for several months. Their dedication, expertise and tireless assistance have brought peace to the McKinney family after decades of waiting. America is deeply grateful to our Thai partners,” the embassy said.

The National Aviation Museum of the Royal Thai Air Force, or RTAF Museum, also congratulated all those involved on the successful search and identification of 1st Lt Franklin McKinney, the US pilot who went missing after the plane crash in Lampang more than 80 years ago, enabling him to be returned to his family.

The museum said another source of pride was Air Chief Marshal Sakpinit Promthep, a Royal Thai Air Force history expert who joined the museum’s live broadcast on the same day to recount the story. He was also part of the field operation team involved in the excavation and study of historical evidence alongside Thai and American academics.

The mission reflected the power of international cooperation, bringing together historians, archaeologists and experts from many sectors to solve a mystery that had lasted more than 80 years, restoring identity and dignity to a person lost in war, the museum said.

The National Aviation Museum of the Royal Thai Air Force thanked all parties involved in preserving and carrying forward aviation history, so that this valuable story could be passed on to future generations.

Meanwhile, the Thammasat Museum of Anthropology said it was deeply honoured to have been part of the mission to search for those missing from the Second World War, under the support of the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology at Thammasat University, together with the UCLA team and the US Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The mission led to the identification of 1st Lt Franklin McKinney, an American pilot who went missing after a crash in Lampang more than 80 years ago, allowing him to be returned to his family with honour.

During the operation, the museum director, museum staff, museum volunteers, students from Thammasat University’s Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology and Faculty of Liberal Arts, as well as students and academics from Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Archaeology, worked in the field side by side with the DPAA and UCLA teams.

They carried out the mission over several weeks in hot weather and physically exhausting conditions until it was successfully completed.

The Thammasat Museum of Anthropology congratulated all parties on the success of this important mission, saying it reflected academic, archaeological and humanitarian cooperation between Thailand and the United States in returning a missing serviceman to his family with honour.

Source: Kom Chad Luek