{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/remains-of-north-dakota-world-war-ii-veteran-officially-identified", "Remains of North Dakota World War II Veteran Officially Identified", "2025-12-12", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "www.cramer.senate.gov", "cramer", "https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "***Click here for audio statement.***\n\nBISMARCK, N.D. \u2013 The Pentagon announced it identified the remains of North Dakotan U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson, 80 years after his aircraft was shot down during a combat mission to Tokyo, Japan. While Ellingson survived the crash, he was held as a prisoner of war and perished in the Tokyo Military Prison during a fire.\n\nNear the end of World War II, 62 American service members were held captive in Tokyo. Ellingson served as a radar observer aboard a Boeing B-29 \"Superfortress\" bomber assigned to 878th Bombardment Squadron, 499th Bombardment Group.\n\nEllingson will be buried in his hometown, Dahlen, N.D., on June 20.\n\n\u201cStaff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson gave his life in World War II fighting for our freedom, obviously as Americans, but really for the freedom of the world,\u201d said U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND). \u201cIt was such an incredible time in our history, and after all these years, 80 years nearly, he\u2019s finally returning home. It\u2019s heartwarming and it\u2019s cause for gratitude for his family\u2019s tireless work in identifying his remains. I just pray this gives them some closure, but more importantly even than closure at this point is that they\u2019re able to bring him home and then to celebrate the incredible life and sacrifice of their hero, of our hero. His sacrifice is similar to the many, many that were made by so many people during World War II. We can\u2019t ever forget any of them, but Irvin\u2019s courage really reminds us of the extraordinary prices paid for by the Greatest Generation for our liberties. It\u2019s why their legacies are going to endure forever, and it\u2019s to be modeled, it\u2019s to be emulated, it\u2019s to be celebrated, it\u2019s to be grateful for.\u201d\n\nU.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson\n\nThe Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said Ellingson\u2019s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Honolulu. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he is now accounted for.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/remains-of-north-dakota-world-war-ii-veteran-officially-identified"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7846408989280462, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}