World war dreams: Settlement mission brings lost heroes lost lost
World war dreams: Settlement mission brings lost heroes lost lost
Wappingers Falls, New York, USA - On June 1, 2025, the unveiling of new rescue projects illuminates a long history of the missing person and the search for their remains. A current example is the tragic case of the US bomber "Heaven Can Wait", which crashed over the Pacific on March 11, 1944 in World War II. The bomber crashed near the island of Neuguinea, with all eleven crew members lost their lives. The humane tragedy has been marked as "impossible" by the official classification of the corpses for decades. This assessment increased the pressure on the family members of the fallen who did not want to accept this situation.
The families, led by Scott Althaus, a relative of bomb shooter Thomas Kelly, began twelve years ago with extensive research over the crash location. Althaus evaluated historical documents and eyewitness reports, which finally clearly identified the crash location in front of Anwar Point in Papua New Guinea. These findings were handed over to the non -profit project Project Recover , which works together with the defense Pow/Mia Accounting Agency (dpaa) to recover the remains of the fallen soldiers.
achievements in recovery
In 2017, the bomber's rubble field was systematically searched for an area of almost 27 square kilometers of sea floor. After years of effort, the US Navy diving team was finally able to discover identification brands and human remains. DNA tests confirmed the identity of Eugene Derrigan, Thomas Kelly, Herbert Tennyson and Donald Sheppick. Nevertheless, seven crew members are still officially missing.
Darrigan was buried with military honor in Wappers, New York, and honored by a large number of people. Kelly's grave is on the memorial stone with the engraved bomber. In the coming months, the late Tennyson and Sheppick will also be buried in Kansas and Pennsylvania. These developments show the nominated importance of memory work for relatives and society.
The search for the crew of another bomber
In parallel to these recovery actions, Project Recover plans a new project to locate a B-52 bomber that disappeared from the Texas coast in 1968. The radar operator on a remote Radar Bomb Scoring (RBS) location was recently contacted with the B-52 Bomber Meal 88 on February 28, 1968, which was to return for an electronically evaluated pass. After the last transmission with the code "Rog 88", the contact broke off abruptly, and the crew has been missing until today.After the search was stopped nine days later due to the lack of traces, 132 relatives remained in the uncertainty about their loved ones. Death certificates were issued and the case was officially closed. But the members of Project Recover believe that a degree is now possible for these families. Thanks to new forensic analyzes and technological advances in maritime archeology
To achieve this goal, Project Recover and the B-52 Bomber Down Team started a fundraising campaign. The aim is to find the missing crew by the end of 2025. The 21-day search mission, which is reminiscent of the tragic circumstances of a war and the ongoing efforts to commemorate and conclude, requires a budget of $ 500,000. The work to educate this fate continues so that the relatives find the certainty that they have been looking for so long.
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| Ort | Wappingers Falls, New York, USA |
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