(Tribune News Service) — Carrying a full load of bombs and several Americans, a B-17 bomber zipped over a rural, wooded part of Nazi Germany.

The men inside, members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, were on a World War II bombing run. But before the plane could drop any explosives, it crashed into another B-17 and plummeted into the forest below, leaving a trail of damaged trees until it cratered the ground in a fiery explosion and killed the men onboard.

Locals who witnessed the crash buried some of the soldiers’ bodies in a nearby cemetery. Then they made haste to fill the crater and plant new trees, restoring the south central German forest to its pre-crash conditions.

But the woodland restoration hid the bodies of three Americans who weren’t recovered after the crash. Eighty years later, students and faculty members at 11 universities, including the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, seek to find and identify these lost soldiers.

“It’s a humanitarian mission,” said William Chadwick, an IUP anthropology professor who co-directs the project. “We’re there to recover individuals whose families are still waiting to hear.”

In late June, three IUP students and Andrea Palmiotto, project co-director and IUP anthropology professor, traveled to a village near Frankfurt for the archaeological field study.

The group will remain in Germany until mid-August. Twelve other students — who hail from schools such as Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Franklin and Marshall College and Princeton University — are also participating in the study.

Chadwick couldn’t attend this year’s mission but has accompanied IUP students on two previous excavations, which were possible through the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The DPAA aims to provide the fullest possible account for personnel who went missing during past U.S. conflicts. Over 72,000 Americans remain missing from World War II, according to DPAA data.

By excavating the site, students gain real-world experience and contribute to the DPAA’s mission, Chadwick said. It’s also beneficial for the students to immerse themselves in German culture for six weeks, the professor believes.

During last year’s excavation at the same site, students had the opportunity to meet a man in his 90s who witnessed the plane crash as a boy. Encounters like that add another layer to the mission-driven purpose of the project.

Combing through any archaeological site is like solving a mystery, Chadwick said. The three deceased American soldiers likely lay somewhere underground in the forest that students navigate on dirt roads.

“That’s a lot of sleuthing when we’re trying to figure out where these individuals might be on this large landscape, which is difficult,” Chadwick said.

Students spend their days wielding shovels and trowels to sift through the soil, searching for artifacts. They also used a ground penetrating radar to detect unusual soil changes and metal detectors to find artifacts.

Artifacts of note would include human remains or personal belongings that might indicate identity. Found items are turned over to the Department of Defense for analysis, Chadwick said.

IUP students Emily Sykora and Tyler Fanell serve as the excavation’s crew chiefs. As they dig through soil, photograph the excavation units and record important information, the pair also leads their peers and ensures the group stays on task.

Fanell — an incoming graduate student who plans to study geomorphological concepts through an archaeological lens, and geophysical studies — said he enjoys his leadership role in the excavation. After graduation, he plans to continue working in culture resource management, a vocation that seeks to protect cultural heritage.

“The most rewarding part of this project has been being able to work with students, whose experiences with archaeological excavation range greatly, in helping them continue to learn field methods and greatly improve their excavation skills at the same time,” Fanell wrote in an email.

Ms. Sykora, a graduate student studying applied archaeology, has ambitions to work with forensic archaeology upon graduation. She said this trip has given her the opportunity to adjust to a new culture and work alongside fellow students, consultants and locals “with a common goal in mind.”

“The work we do here is very important, especially to the affected families,” Ms. Sykora wrote in an email. “To be working as hard as we do, it’s really great to think about how this is all worthwhile in the end.”

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