World War II airman's vintage Zippo lighter found and returned to family following an 80-year absence
A Zippo lighter belonging to missing U.S. Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Michael Musashe from World War II has been returned to his family after nearly eight decades, thanks to a remarkable chain of events involving social media, historians, and international cooperation.
Staff Sgt. Musashe, a tail gunner on a B-17 bomber, went missing during a mission over Berlin on April 19, 1944. His lighter, inscribed with his name and service number, was discovered by a Swiss collector’s club and shared on Facebook in 2019. Vince Musashe, the sergeant’s nephew, learned about the lighter through a relative who saw the post.
The Swiss collector, who turned out to be a Swiss armed forces officer, had purchased the lighter in Bavaria with no information about its origin. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) historians facilitated contact between the Swiss collector and the Musashe family. The collector, sharing a military background, felt a strong connection and was committed to returning the lighter to the family. He helped arrange the safe transfer of the lighter back to the United States and kept the family informed at every stage of the shipment.
Upon receiving the lighter in the U.S., Vince Musashe and his wife travelled to bring it to their aunt, Virginia Zoller. The lighter is believed to have 27 hash marks, which military historians think represent Musashe's 27 missions during the war. For Virginia, who last saw her brother when she was in 7th grade, receiving the Zippo lighter was a poignant reminder and tribute to a family hero who never returned home from the war. She expressed her joy upon receiving it, stating she was happy that she lived to see it.
This recovery highlights the power of social media in connecting lost pieces of history and the collaboration between families, historians, and collectors across international boundaries to honour the memory of missing servicemembers. However, despite the lighter's return, no remains or records related to the deaths of Musashe or one other crew member were ever found. The exact number of crew members who exited the aircraft in parachutes is still debated.
Sources: [1] Emily Mae Czachor, "Missing WWII soldier's Zippo lighter returned to family after 80 years," OurNews.com, 10th February 2023. [2] DPAA Press Release, "Zippo lighter of missing WWII soldier returned to family," 10th February 2023.
Breaking news: The health of the Musashe family has been uplifted as they received a piece of their relative's history – a Zippo lighter belonging to Staff Sgt. Michael Musashe, a missing U.S. Army Air Corps Staff Sergeant from World War II. The lighter, discovered over eight decades later, was recently returned to them following a series of events involving international cooperation and news-sharing on social media. With this delightful event, the Musashe family along with the general-news world has gained a fresh narrative of war-and-conflicts, politics, and history that goes beyond the usual headlines of war outcomes and deaths.
