December 10-11, 2017 – Stevensville, MI. Project Recover team members attended the repatriation of Albert P. “Bud” Rybarczyk from Palau, MIA since September 8, 1944.
The Repatriation of Albert P. “Bud” Rybarczyk
Alii and Happy Holidays!
On December 10 and 11, a ceremony and funeral were held near Stevensville, a small community in southwest Michigan, for ARM2c Albert “Bud” Rybarczyk, USNR. Seven members of Project Recover, made up of teams from The BentProp Project, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and the University of Delaware (UDel), traveled from across the United States to Bud Rybarczyk’s hometown along the shores of Lake Michigan at the invitation of his family to honor the repatriation of Albert P. “Bud” Rybarczyk and homecoming of this American who had been Missing in Action since September 8, 1944. The return home of their Uncle Bud turned out to be not just a family affair – the team witnessed the community of this small town in southwestern Michigan comes together to honor Bud’s return.
Incredibly, his sister Mary Ann, a retired Catholic nun, is still alive which made the event all the more special. The family members said that, while it came as a surprise to hear from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA, formerly JPAC) about his recovery, Sister Mary Ann over the years never gave up hope for his return. In fact, the family bought a burial plot for him long ago. They have now taken joy that “Bud has come home for Christmas”.
What does this have to do with Palau?
Everything – because 73 years ago, Bud Rybarczyk was part of a US Navy three-man aircrew whose TBM-1c Avenger from the aircraft carrier, USS Intrepid, crashed after dropping a bomb on the power plant along western Aimeliik on that September day in 1944. Their mission was part of the preparation for the landing of the US Marines on Peleliu the following September 15th. Two airmen, Aviation Radioman Second Class Albert “Bud” Rybarczyk and Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class Ora Sharninghouse died on that Avenger when it crashed into the ocean north of the power plant. A now-deceased Palauan witnessed the third airman, the pilot, to parachute from the burning aircraft, swim to shore and be immediately executed by two Japanese soldiers.
How We Know
BentProp working in partnership with SCRIPPS Institution of Oceanography and University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment located the underwater crash site on March 25, 2014. The search began in 2005, when BentProp team members, working with the Palauan Historical Preservation Office and the Office of the President, interviewed, with the help of team guide Joe Maldangesang, Chief Rengulbai Brikul and his son, J. Brikul in their Aimeliik village. The Chief, who has since passed away, recalled a “skokie” crashing into a mangrove and a parachute being seen. This was the first time the team learned of this crash. The BentProp team also interviewed Fuana Ngiratechekii in 2005 and again in 2017 and learned that the Palauan who witnessed the crash was her father. On that day, he had been gathering white clams in nearby mangroves for his family when he saw the aircraft crash into the ocean and the execution of the pilot. Her father’s story left a lasting impression on Fauna because she remembers it in detail – her father had told her his story many times and she said he must have done so for a reason. Starting in 2005 through 2013, BentProp teams made many underwater scuba searches in systematic patterns within this area’s murky waters for the wreckage, all without success. In 2012, JPAC contacted BentProp asking information about this Avenger and shared for the first time the official “Air Action Report ” (AAR), which provided useful and confirmatory data about the crash and its aircrew.
In 2013, SIO, UDel, and BentProp met for the first time at the Coral Reef Research Foundation in Malakal and realized the synergy of combining the advanced underwater robotics used by SIO and UDel with BentProp’s mission to locate American MIAs lost in combat. Project Recover, a partnership of all three organizations, was born from that meeting. The very first joint mission was to locate this lost Avenger. Using Fuana’s recollections and the AAR information, the Project Recover team calculated a projected flight path and from that an underwater search area. Using their Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, the SIO and UDEL teams found, on the very first search day, side-scanning sonar evidence of the crash site. Late in the day, Eric Terrill from SIO navigating the lead, Mark Moline from UDel, Pat Scannon from BentProp and divers from all three teams dove and located this Avenger, which became a known site after 71 years of waiting. Three days later, the same set of three teams located a second missing aircraft off the northern side of Arakebesan, an F6F-3 Hellcat fighter flown by Lt. William Punnell, USNR. Joe Maldangesang during his scuba dive was instrumental in locating the Hellcat. The Project Recover team documented both sites and turned all information over to DPAA. In 2015, DPAA sent underwater archaeologist Drew Pietruszka (now with SIO) to dive and survey these two sites. On June 30, 2017, DPAA announced the accounting of two airmen from the Aimeliik Avenger, AOM2c Albert Rybarczyk and ARM2c Ora Sharninghouse and the pilot of the Arakebesan Hellcat, Lt. William Punnell.
Rybarczyk Receives Full Navy Honor Guard
In Michigan where the Project Recover team met to honor repatriation of Albert P. “Bud” Rybarczk, his family was gracious to all the team members and the ceremonies were beautiful. The US Navy had two active duty officers present throughout the days from Bud Rybarczyk’s return by aircraft on Dec 7 to Grand Rapids, through the military escort to his home, to the Visitation at the funeral home on Dec 10 and the Mass and Funeral on Dec 11. The Mass ended with one of Bud’s cousins singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. An active duty admiral attended the funeral and burial. In the face of cold blowing winds off Lake Michigan, the Navy Honor Guard truly honored Bud’s repatriation. Check out the local front page news article of the Repatriation of Albert P. “Bud” Rybarczyk
It is true that the 2014 Project Recover mission which located these two aircraft was amazing. However, the repatriation of Albert P. “Bud” Rybarczyk and return of their Uncle Bud to Michigan is evidence that the mission did not stop when the Project Recover team left Palau that year. AOM2 Ora H. Sharninghouse from the same Avenger crew will return to his home for his ceremony/burial on April 6 and 7, 2018 in Findlay, Ohio – the Project Recover team plans to be there for that repatriation. A large contingent of the Sharninghouse family attended the Rybarczyk Mass and Burial. The F6F-3 Hellcat aviator, Lt. William Punnell, also found in 2014 will be buried in the second half of April 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, DC, and Project Recover team members have also been invited by the family to attend.
All the members of the Project Recover team thank the Office of the President, the Historical Preservation Office and many Palauans who helped make the return of these American airmen home possible. The families of these repatriated airmen also wish to express their deep gratitude to the people of Palau for all their assistance.
A Very Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Respectfully,
Patrick J. Scannon, MD, PhD
Project Recover Partner
Team Leader, The BentProp Project
Read posts related to Rybarczyk and this TBM Avenger crew:
- April 2018 – MIA For 73 Years, Sharninghouse Will Be Buried With Military Honors
- April 2018 – WWII Ordnanceman Sharninghouse Laid To Rest In Hometown
- August 2017 – Former WWII MIAs Rybarczyk and Sharninghouse Accounted for by DPAA
Read posts related to this TBM Avenger find:
Read posts about other MIAs Project Recover has helped repatriate:
Read posts about other WWII Aircrafts Project Recover has located:
- May 2017 – Two Missing World War II Bombers Documented by Project Recover Off Papua New Guinea
- March 2016 – Project Recover Locates WWII TBM Avenger Aircraft
- March 2015 – PMAN XVII – Project Recover Locates TBM Avenger in Palau
Our Uncle Bud (Albert) is my dad’s (Norbert) brother! Our family continues to be overwhelmed and overjoyed at his ‘Coming Home!’ We are so grateful for all involved in his finding and recovery…and are so appreciative that the searching continues for the hundreds of others still missing. Uncle Bud’s return home has brought closure…but it has also opened the doors for us to learn more about him! Thank you for all of your work, and God bless you! We are blessed that Uncle Bud is home.
God Bless Uncle Bud (Albert) and his family along with all of the BentProp Project team that made all of this a reality! …it’s a great thing you guys are doing on land and sea! Keep up the good work on searching for another loved one…it’s comforting to know you bring peace of mind to all involved!
I had the opportunity to attend the visitation for the family of Mr. Albert Rybarczyk. It was truly an honor to meet Bud’s family…especially his sister, Mary Ann. I also met his niece and her husband. Truly an honor.
It was also an opportunity to meet a few of the BentProp team. Each of them patriots and heroes in a sense, they presented themselves as if to be a living testimony and honor to the real hero of that day in September of 1944. Many thanks to each of them for taking the time out of their busy lives to join in support, memory and honor to the family of Mr. Rybarczyk.
Albert Rybarczyk is and always will be a classic icon of the countless thousands of the men and women who sacrificed their lives in their service to their nation. He truly represents “the Greatest Generation” and all the honor which his generation earned. The phenomenal story this particular hero brings to our attention is that his honor was somewhat hidden and sealed in the cockpit of his aircraft he perished in…so many decades ago.
Maybe God had a purpose in this “delayed honor”. Maybe God Almighty wants our generation(s) of today to take a pause and genuinely reflect and give this “Greatest Generation” all of the praise and accolades it deserves. Too soon we forget and unintentionally dismiss or overlook what real sacrifice is all about… especially at a time of peril for our country and its allied nations.
Albert is in a much better place today and he has to know that his surviving family and loved ones will always revere his memory and sacrifice. Full honor now goes to him after 70+ years of waiting… but this is only a speck in time compared to the joy and bliss of eternal life in Heaven, which he is enjoying now!
“Auf Wiedersehen”, Albert, …until we meet again.
I would like to send a special thanks to the BentProp Team. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Flip Colmer and he gave me a special insight on the true mission of “BentProp” and the goals and objectives their organization has set their sights on. What a loving dedication these individuals have and also the comfort and peace they also bring to countless family and friends of the fallen heroes. This particular hero of WWII has “hit home” for so many of the few veterans that remain and are still alive to remember the war years of WWII.
I have a number of friends and acquaintances I’ve known in the “Lest We Forget” organization. Some of these members fought from the beaches of Normandy to the islands of the Pacific and the mountains of Iwo Jima. Some of these patriots were even awarded the Medal of Honor. So many of them have left us already. I feel blessed to have known them.
The mission statement of The Lest We Forget holds true for Mr. Albert “Bud” Rybarczyk: “To shine the light on patriotism and not to let the past be forgotten by the children of our future generations.” How true..
Thanks, once again, BentProp for your service and priceless deeds you have given…especially to the families. Thanks also for sharing this great story with your readers and followers. May God bless your future ventures!
Regards,
Ray
Thank you for the kind words.
The family of SSGT Jimmie Doyle, 307th BG Heavy, KIA September 1, 1944 off the waters of Koror, rejoice with all these families. We have been where you are. God bless each of you and God bless the men and women of the BentProp Project and Project Recovery in their past and continuing efforts to bring our loved ones home finally. Thank you.