Remains of WWII POW Staff Sgt. Irvin Ellingson, Killed in 1945 Tokyo Prison Fire, Return Home to North Dakota

The remains of Staff Sgt. Irvin Ellingson of Dahlen, North Dakota — a radar observer aboard a B-29 Superfortress shot down over Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in the spring of 1945 — were flown from Honolulu to Fargo's Hector International Airport on June 18, 2026, 81 years after his death. Ellingson had survived the crash and been captured, but died as a prisoner of war during a fire at a Tokyo military prison on May 26, 1945. His remains, exhumed from a grave at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, were positively identified on June 17, 2025 through anthropological and DNA analysis by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. A convoy of Highway Patrol troopers, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, and the Legion Riders Motorcycle Club escorted the casket to Veterans Memorial Park in Grand Forks. A celebration of Ellingson's life was held June 19, 2026 at the Terry Ellingson Farm Event Center in Dahlen, followed by a viewing and funeral on June 20, 2026 at Dahlen Lutheran Church, with burial to follow. Road closures were arranged in Grand Forks for the procession.