Katie Dobbins

Memorial Ceremony for Lt. Austin Keith, United States Air Force, Missing In Action Lt. Austin Keith of Bangor, Maine joined the Army Air Force in 1942 and became a pilot during World War II. Assigned to the Pacific Theater as a B-29 Superfortress bomber pilot, Keith flew numerous missions against Japan. On one mission, while joining up with other squadron aircraft before heading for Tokyo, Keith’s B-29 collided with another aircraft and spun out of control. All hands were lost on both aircraft over the Pacific Ocean. There were no survivors. Lt. Keith’s family back home in Maine was devastated, as one can imagine, when they received word about the death of their only son. The family, with Austin’s younger sister, relocated to the Weirs Beach area of Laconia, New Hampshire in the late 1950’s. It was there, years later, that the parents passed away and the then elderly sister moved in with a generous neighbor for the remaining years of her life. The parents and their daughter are buried in Laconia’s Bayside Cemetery. This ceremony, adding Lt. Austin Keith’s name and service on an engraved plate to the family gravesite with full military honors, will occur at 10 AM on May 11, 2024. After seven decades, Lt. Austin Keith will be reunited with his beloved parents and sister at Bayside Cemetery in Laconia. The public is invited.