‘He has not been forgotten’: Evansville welcomes home lost airman nearly 70 years after his death
July 16, 2021 10:08 PM Madalyn O Neill
Updated:
United States Airman 2
nd Class Edward J. Miller’s family has been waiting a long time.
“The family has been waiting over 60 years to recover his body,” Evansville Mayor Bill Hurtley said.
When what you’re waiting for never comes, time can nearly stand still.
“It’s just as fresh today as it was then for them, I think,” Evansville Police Chief Patrick Reese said.
In 1952, Miller died along with more than 50 others when their plane crashed in Alaska. At the time, the site of the crash was unknown and their bodies went unfound.
By Madalyn O Neill
EVANSVILLE, Wis. â Time seems to move more slowly when waiting.
United States Airman 2
nd Class Edward J. Millerâs family has been waiting a long time.
âThe family has been waiting over 60 years to recover his body,â Evansville Mayor Bill Hurtley said.
When what youâre waiting for never comes, time can nearly stand still.
âItâs just as fresh today as it was then for them, I think,â Evansville Police Chief Patrick Reese said.
In 1952, Miller died along with more than 50 others when their plane crashed in Alaska. At the time, the site of the crash was unknown and their bodies went unfound.
“When people think of hate crimes, it’s probably different than simple graffiti,” Janesville Police Chief David Moore said.
Understanding hate and how to investigate and prioritize it starts at the top of a law enforcement agency. A News 3 Investigation requested hate-based police reports from dozens of agencies reporting crimes across the state. In follow-up phone calls and interviews, a spectrum of perspectives emerged in how agencies understand and prioritize hate.
The Janesville Police Department, which has incorporated bias training into some annual requirements, has had at least seven hate investigations in the past three years. A couple ultimately weren’t classified as hate crimes once in 2018 because they weren’t able to locate the victim after an intoxicated suspect harassed him with a knife on the street. Other instances were graffiti, including an anti-Trump incident that officers at first thought might be an anti-white crime before the classification was c