The remains of nine U.S. airmen including two from Massachusetts, one from New Hampshire and one from Vermont, missing in action since a World War II mission over Germany, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial, the Pentagon said.

The B-24 crew took off from North Pickenham, England, on July 7, 1944, to bomb a German aircraft factory near Bernburg, Germany. The plane was last seen by other crews in the target area. Captured records showed that it crashed near Westeregeln, about 20 miles northwest of the target, the Defense Department said.