My father – missing personnel? Ops “Frantic” (“Titanic”), Poltava, 1944.

   I’m writing my message from Ukraine, Poltava city. Here the shuttle bombing  operation “Frantic” (“Titanic”) started in 1944 between Italy (15th Air Force), Britain (8th Air Force) and the USSR.
   I need help in restoring the true story of my father’s life.
   According to one of the versions (that needs check) my father  was at the Poltava air station as a member of 559 USAAF servicemen crew of Ground Commands from the very beginning of “Frantic” operation till it’s end (the evacuation of the base personnel).
   Here in Poltava my dad met my mother (she came to Poltava in October, 1944, when it was vacated from the fascists) and, having fallen in love with her, he is supposed to stay in Poltava illegally and took another last name. He lived his whole life with this last name and died in 1988 having told nothing about his past.
   According to this version it can be assumed that my father had to get in the list of missing personnels and I know, that such lists exist.
   Where in the USA I can look through the files of those, who didn’t come back home from Poltava because of some reasons? It would be great if it contained photos.
   There are organizations in the USA that search for the lost during the World War II. But I can’t use it as I know neither my father’s real name nor his last name.
   The only thing I have is a postwar photo of my father’s. It’s the only thing, that can be applied for the analysis of missing personnels files (from 559 USAAF in Poltava).
   I will be grateful for any help in my searches.

Leonid,
It is my belief that all questions to this forum should be replied to if there is a possible answer. My reply to you, this is a sad story. Sad because you are trying to search the background of someone you held dearly to your heart (my assumption) and that someone is classified as a deserter from the US armed forces. It is also my presumption that his records are classifiied as a deserter not one as MIA.  I base these thoughts on a personal experience of a shipmate that went AWOL in port never to be seen again, he was a deserter. I will not go into the thoughts of those that stood up to carry out their military duties whether they liked it or not and did not desert. Many GIs fell in love with foreign girls and married them  after the war was over and their military obligations fulfilled. Life can be cruel sometimes and we may not like what we hear or see, this is one of those cases. my suggestion, since a combat situation was not involved , you may want to persue the deserter aspect.l