Remains of Maryland World War II pilot return home 83 years after his death

The remains of a Maryland native and American aviator who was killed during World War II were honored as they arrived Friday at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Walter Bateman was 22 years old when the B-24D Liberator bomber he was piloting was shot down Aug. 16, 1943, during a bombing mission targeting enemy airfields in Foggia, Italy.

None of the bomber's 10 crew members survived.

Bateman's remains were identified earlier this year by the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

He will be laid to rest Sept. 6 at Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Joppa, Maryland.