Earlier this fall, the Columbus Dispatch published a story about Columbus Academy alumnus George Winger ’36, a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot who died August 1, 1943, while fighting in the European arena of World War II. His plane was shot down during a bombing mission, and his remains were not able to be identified after the war and were buried as unknown at the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania in the Hero Section. Earlier this year, scientists used forensic anthropological techniques and analyzed mitochondrial DNA to identify Winger’s remains, which will now be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
For Columbus Academy’s centennial celebration during the 2010-11 school year, then-senior Elizabeth Vaziri ’11 profiled Winger in her “Academy Boys” documentary about alumni who had served in World War II.
Then, in 2018, Elizabeth’s younger sister Carolyn “Gurby” Vaziri ’22 wrote an article about Winger’s sacrifice for the school newspaper.
10TV reporter Lindsey Mills recently interviewed both Elizabeth and Gurby to discuss their thoughts about Winger and this latest development in his story 80 years after his death. It aired over the weekend as a Veterans Day tribute.
Click on the following links for more Veterans Day activities at Columbus Academy: