A ir Force Technical Sergeant Thomas J. Walker was recently married and had a month-old child waiting for him at home when his plane was struck and started going down in France in 1943.

All the service members in the plane bailed out. All but one of them were captured by Germans and sent to a prisoners of war camp. No one knew what happened to Walker from Arizona.

Eighty-two years later, a Chandler teacher has solved that mystery.

Donna Gustafson, who teaches history at Santan Junior High School, was one of 61 educators from 31 states and an international school chosen to be part of the Silent Heroes program run by National History Day.

Each educator got to choose one U.S. military service person from one of four wars and research their lives.

“I just think this is important to do,”

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