Dale Danneker was only two months old when his uncle, U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. John “Jack” H. Danneker, was killed in the skies over Europe during World War II. On June 20, 1944, Danneker was serving as the left waist gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber, attacking enemy facilities in Politz, Germany, when the bomber collided with another in the same formation. Danneker’s B-24 spiraled into the Baltic Sea near Langeland Island, Denmark. Two men from its 10-man crew survived the crash and were taken as prisoners of war. The others, including 19-year-old Danneker, could not be recovered.
Like many Gold Star families, the Danneker family felt the pain of loss through generations; conversations around the fallen are often difficult to have. “I heard a couple of stories about him but not in any detail,” Dale said, who grew up thinking, mistakenly, that his uncle had been shot down over the English Channel. “My parents would just say to me, ‘You have an Uncle Jack who was killed in the war.’”
In 2019, 75 years after Danneker’s death, Danish divers discovered the wreck of a World War II aircraft in the general vicinity where the bomber had gone down. They contacted the Royal Danish Navy, which removed the undetonated bombs from the wreck in 2021, rendering the site safe for investigation. The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the Royal Danish Navy and other groups then conducted an underwater survey, which found evidence of human remains. Further excavations, from 2023 to 2024, found additional human remains, material evidence and the identification tags of two crew members.
DPAA’s call to request a DNA sample surprised Dale—but not as much as their follow-up call to tell him that the DNA match had identified his uncle. “That was unbelievable,” Dale said. “I was dumbfounded. It's just wonderful that there are people dedicated to finding our fallen.”
With his uncle found and identified, Dale polled his family about his final resting place. They decided that Arlington National Cemetery would be most fitting for his sacrifice. “He deserved it,” he said.
At the funeral service on Aug. 26, 2025, U.S. Army Chaplain (Capt.) Raymond Akeriwe told the gathered family and friends that Danneker had “faithfully and honorably served his nation during World War II,” and that he had “given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen.”
The service, with an honor guard folding the flag over the casket, a rifle team firing three volleys and a bugler sounding Taps, impressed Dale. “It was so professional,” he said. “It was impossible to keep your eyes dry.”
After the service, Dale noted that his Uncle Jack’s four other brothers also served in the armed forces. Dale and his brother, as well as Dale’s son, continued the legacy by joining the military. Dale served in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a major. He took pride in his family’s sacrifice, saying, “Our family has been well represented in doing our duty to our country.”