The Skies Fill with Color at a Chinese Kite Festival

 A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)
A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)
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The Skies Fill with Color at a Chinese Kite Festival

 A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)
A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)

More than 1,000 kites filled the skies of Weifang, an eastern Chinese coastal city that touts itself as the “kite capital of the world,” on Saturday. Locals say there is nothing that can’t sail the skies of Weifang.

From dragons to pandas, modern cars to mythical characters from a canonical Chinese novel, kite craftsmen and aficionados showcased their latest art at the Weifang International Kite Festival.

Kite-makers say the craftsmanship has evolved over the years, with nylon fabrics becoming more common at the expense of traditional materials such as paper and silk.

Modern craftsmanship also means kite-makers are boasting more elaborate, complex and bigger designs, among them a centipede kite measuring 70 meters (230 feet) in length.



World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
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World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)

After 80 years, a World War II sergeant killed in Germany has returned home to California.

On Thursday, community members lined the roads to honor US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport to a burial home in Riverside, California, The AP reported.

Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany, according to Honoring Our Fallen, an organization that provides support to families of fallen military and first responders.

One of the surviving crewmembers saw the plane was on fire, then fell in a steep dive before exploding on the ground. After the crash, German troops buried the remains of one soldier at a local cemetery, while the other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for.

Banta was married and had four sisters and a brother. He joined the military because of his older brother Floyd Jack Banta, who searched for Donald Banta his whole life but passed away before he was found.

Donald Banta's niece was present at the planeside honors ceremony at the Ontario airport coordinated by Honoring Our Fallen.

The remains from the plane crash were initially recovered in 1952, but they could not be identified at the time and were buried in Belgium. Banta was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023, following efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency within the US Department of Defense and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.