posted
Volunteers Help in Discovery of WWII Aircraft and Airmen's Remains in South Pacific Atoll
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The BentProp Project, a self funded team of adventurers, is preparing to resume searching Palau for missing World War II aircraft and their airmen. The aviation and history enthusiasts have located more than three dozen aircraft since 1993.
BentProp is so named for the most recognizable piece of wreckage found at each site, the bent propeller. The military's Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) is charged with bringing home the 88,000 the US lists as Missing In Action; 78,000 are from WWII. See http://www.BentProp.org.
"Many Americans have died over the course of our history in defense of our liberties," says Dr. Patrick Scannon, founder of the organization. "BentProp is our way of showing our gratitude for their sacrifices."
Scannon, Ph.D., M.D., founded BentProp after participating in the discovery of the armed trawler sunk by then Ensign George H.W. Bush. A guide took Scannon to the wing of a B24 in shallow water off a rock island. The scene struck him so that he made it his mission to find and identify as many wreck sites as possible.
Palau, 1,000 miles southwest of Guam, felt the full fury of that Pacific War. In all there are 200 missing US aircraft inside the barrier reef of Palau. The wreck sites lay in the waters, jungles and swamps of Palau.
The team will again focus on finding possible MIA locations in an effort to bring closure to families of the MIAs.
As with the last several expeditions, this one will coincide with a JPAC recovery mission. JPAC will be continuing recovery of a B-24 (eight airmen aboard), begin recovery on an Avenger (3 aboard), and maybe a Grumman Wildcat. These sites were all identified by BentProp.
"For more than half a century, the fates of hundreds of these men have remained concealed. Loved ones have lived with the pain of not knowing. Through your tireless efforts, the families and friends of many of these brave airmen have finally achieved closure. You have helped show that no Marine is ever forgotten," wrote Gen. James L. Jones, then Commandant of the US Marine Corps.
Copyright Notice: All images and text on this website are protected by U.S. and International Copyright Law. No images or text should be copied, downloaded, transferred, or reproduced without the written consent of Patrick Ranfranz/MissingAirCrew.com Images. If you wish to use any materials (images or text), please contact: webmaster@missingaircrew.com
® Copyright 2004-2005, MissingAirCrew.com®, All rights reserved.
Printer-friendly view of this topic