Eighty years after a U.S. military airman went missing in World War II, his family received a token to remember him by: a Zippo lighter, inscribed with “Musashe 1943” and parts of the service number once assigned to its owner, Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Michael Musashe.
The lighter came into the family’s possession after one of the airman’s relatives spotted it in a Facebook post about a year ago, the sergeant’s nephew, Vince Musashe, told the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense tasked with finding and identifying service members who were either missing in action or prisoners of war during past conflicts.
In the post, shared in 2019 by a Facebook group called the “Great Lakes Lighter Club,” a Swiss man who collected lighters showed an installment in his collection. It was the Zippo lighter with Musashe’s last name and 27 hash marks that military historians believe represented the airman’s 27 missions during the war. They suggested the lighter may have been recovered from Musashe’s remains or from the wreckage of his aircraft, which was attacked in 1944, according to DPAA.
Musashe was last seen on April 19 of that year, when he was among a group of American airmen dispatched to bomb part of Berlin. German fire damaged his aircraft, which changed course and accidentally ended up passing over then-occupied Denmark, where the pilot ordered crew members including Musashe to bail out.
Exactly how many of the 10 crew members actually exited the aircraft in parachutes has been debated. Officials say no remains or records related to the deaths of Musashe or one other crew member were ever found, and a finding of death was issued to Musashe’s family on Nov. 7, 1945.
DPAA historians helped the family locate the Zippo lighter’s new owner after seeing that Facebook post. They contacted the man, Swiss army veteran Rolf Gerster, who eventually turned it over to them.
“He felt strongly that the lighter belonged with our family and was happy to be part of bringing a part of my uncle home,” said Vince Musashe, according to DPAA. “He was extremely helpful in arranging the transfer, telling me the best way to make sure it got to the United States safe and sound. He tracked the shipment and kept me informed at each stage.”
The deceased airman’s nephew told DPAA he brought the Zippo to his uncle’s sister, 95-year-old Virginia Zoller, who last saw her brother when she was in 7th grade.
“She clutched the lighter as if she was hugging her brother,” said Vince Musashe. “After 81 years, she did what she said she would do when he came home. She kissed the lighter. She was just so happy that she lived to see this.”
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