Ceremony Honors North Dakota WWII Veteran as His Remains Return Home After Nearly 80 Years

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DAHLEN, N.D. - Family, friends, and community members gathered in Dahlen for a three-day homecoming honoring U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson, as his remains returned to North Dakota nearly 80 years after his aircraft was shot down during a combat mission over Tokyo. Ellingson will be laid to rest June 20 in his hometown with full military honors, closing a long chapter of uncertainty beginning in World War II.

Throughout the homecoming, family members paid tribute by reading wartime letters, singing patriotic songs like "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," and sharing stories of Ellingson's life, college years, and military service.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) offered remarks in honor of Ellingson's legacy.

"Everybody made a sacrifice in some way," said Cramer. "Sometimes it was the person who had to stay behind and milk twice as many cows because the other person who usually did it had gone off to war-but everybody was in the fight. The celebration of Irvin's life reminds us what it takes to preserve our freedom. Today, we have the luxury of being critical because most of us don't personally know someone in that fight. When we celebrate Irvin's life in this way, it's more than just an inspiration-it's an educational opportunity, reminding us of the sacrifices made by an entire generation to secure the freedoms we enjoy today."

The event drew Gold Star families, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) officials, and Col. Jimmy Schlabach, commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, underscoring the broad community of support behind bringing Ellingson home.

The DPAA confirmed his identification in December, concluding an 80-year effort to repatriate him. Ellingson served as a radar observer aboard a B-29 Superfortress with the 878th Bombardment Squadron, 499th Bombardment Group. After surviving the crash, he was captured and later died in the Tokyo Military Prison during a fire.

U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson

His name was inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu in 1966. A rosette will now be added beside his name, signifying the conclusion of his time lost among the missing in action, who will never be forgotten.

In 2021, Cramer and his Senate colleagues sent a letter requesting the Department of War authorize DPAA's disinterment of service members who perished in the 1945 Tokyo prison fire and were buried as unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery, helping advance efforts ultimately leading to Ellingson's identification.