Airman Andrew E. Rajnic's plane, on its way from China, bound for India, went down in a thunderstorm over the Himalayan Mountains on Sept. 17, 1944. The family of the young Coaldale native, who was a radio operator on the cargo plane, was informed of his death by telegram days later; his mother is sent her dead son's toothbrush, a Rosary and a pipe.

Rajnic's stepbrother, Bill Hook of Lansford, has tried to persuade the Army to bring Rajnic's remains home for burial. But, 66 years after the fatal crash, the remains, along with those of pilot Robert W. Tinsley of Pennsylvania, and co-pilot Charles M. Adams of Camden, N.J., lie high atop a mountain peak in a remote area of India, where they were found in November 2009 by Arizona adventurer Clayton Kuhles.Although the U.S. Army is aware of where his remains are, it is unlikely they will ever be recovered."In 2008 and 2009, JPAC (Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command) conducted operations in India to recover the remains of our servicemen missing from World War II; however, Private Rajnic's case was not among those they investigated," Robert J. Newberry, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, wrote in an Aug. 6 letter to state Rep. Keith McCall.Hook had enlisted McCall's help in nudging the military to recover Rajnic's remains."Please be assured that it was not as much a matter of priorities of which cases to pursue but rather a matter of complexities in how we are able to work in India," Newberry wrote. Our ability to conduct operations there is influenced by difficult terrain, high elevation and the short time each year in which weather in the area these losses occurred is conducive to operations. Moreover, India has limited us to conducting either one investigation or one excavation each year. Despite these difficult circumstances, JPAC has reviewed the information Mr. Kuhles provided, as well as official records, and is carefully considering its next steps for investigating this case." Newberry wrote.JPAC has not returned telephone calls seeking more information.McCall has since written the U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, asking for its help in "prioritizing and pursuing the recovery of the remains of an Army Private (Rajnic) who perished during World War II. Like so many, he sacrificed his life for his country. Unlike many of our World War II heroes, his remains have yet to be brought home to be afforded appropriate military honors and a proper burial."McCall on Friday said he'll keep fighting. "While the response from the Department of Defense is disheartening, it hasn't changed our resolve one bit. Airman Rajnic deserves the hero's burial on American soil he's earned, and his family deserves the peace of mind that their loved one is finally 'home.' We'll continue to do all we can to urge the department and the Indian government to let us bring Airman Rajnic's remains back," he said.The lack of progress has left Hook disappointed."I think it has gone as far as it's going to go. I'd be totally shocked if something did come out of it," he said.The mission to bring Rajnic home for a proper burial has at least brought Hook one thing: A photo that Rajnic sent their mother early in his tour of duty. It was a photo of himself, and, in his typical wry humor, Rajnic had drawn lieutenant's bars on his uniform. The photo had ended up with a relative in Maryland, who framed it and sent it to Hook.The cargo plane Rajnic was in was piloted by Robert W. Tinsley of Pennsylvania, with Charles M. Adams of Camden, N.J., as co-pilot. Having lifted off at Chanyi, China, bound for Misamari, India, the plane crashed on a mountaintop in India, 11,000 feet up and surrounded by dense jungle. Although the Department of Defense considered the crew lost in action, it wasn't until Jan. 24, 1945, four months after the crash, that a military search and rescue team spotted the wreckage. Although an April 19, 1945 report gave the exact coordinates of the crash site, the report noted that the elevation and terrain made it impossible to reach by ground crew.Rajnic, 28, was one of more than 1,000 military men who died "flying the Hump," a hazardous, 530- mile-long supply route over the Himalayan mountains.Hook learned in April that his stepbrother's remains had been found. The news came via an email message from Gary Zaetz of Cary, N.C., who researches the relatives of soldiers missing in action. Zaetz sent an email about Kuhles' find to Hook's niece, Monica Lewellis of Allentown. She contacted Hook's nephew John Rajnic, who lives in New York City. John Rajnic sent the news to Hook's daughter, Geri Vavra of Coaldale. who broke the news to her father.Hook immediately contacted the U.S. Army Casualty Office, which asked for a sample of his DNA to match with any remains that might eventually be recovered from the crash site. Hook also contacted McCall for help in urging the Department of Defense to pursue recovery of the remains.