1st Lt. Carl C. Hoenshell's Funeral
by Elizabeth Wilson
25 May 2003, Owosso, Michigan
| Dear Friends and especially 71st Fighter Squadron Members, May 25th, the day before Memorial Day was a great day for the family and friends of 1st Lt. Carl C. Hoenshell. After 59 years we were finally able to bring him home and have a memorial service to honor him for his service and sacrifice. Many of you already know the story of his recovery and the fact that it has taken over 5 years to recover Carl's remains from the Bulgarian countryside. The Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI) released the remains to our family on May 15th. My cousin, David Hoenshell escorted the remains from Hawaii to Detroit where we loaded the flagged draped casket on a U.S. Army Air National Guard UH-1 Huey helicopter. The Michigan air guard unit was provided through support of Michigan State Senator Garcia and Mr. Kevin Kregger of the Nelson/House Funeral Home. The helicopter transported the remains to Carl's hometown of Owosso, Michigan where the immediate family members, VFW post 9455 color guard and media representatives waited. As part of the memorial services on the 25th the 71st Fighter Squadron "Ironmen" provided a four plane flyover missing man formation with lead being flown by Lt.Col. Mac "Curly" McKenzie. We also enjoyed the sound and appearance of seven WW-II era T-6 Texan trainers coordinated by lead pilot Jim Greeson and flown by volunteers from all over the state of Michigan. I have many people to personally thank for the years of support in making the events on the 25th of May very special for my family. I will be in touch! For now, here are a few pictures from one of the most memorable events in the history of my family and the community of Owosso. Elizabeth
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