Lt. William Q. Punnell Flag ceremony over his airplane wreck in Palau. Project Recover is committed to bringing the MIA home.

MIA Lt. William Q. Punnell located by Project Recover to be buried May 2

Harry MIAs, Repatriations 2 Comments

April 27, 2018 – MIA Lt. William Q. Punnell located by Project Recover will be buried May 2nd On May 2, 2018 Navy Reserve Lt. William Q. Punnell, 27, of Flandreau, South Dakota will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. On July 25, 1944 four divisions (16 aircraft) of F6F-3 Hellcat fighters led by Lt. Punnell, took off from the USS Wasp aircraft carrier on a fighter sweep against targets throughout the islands of the Republic of Palau.  According to eyewitnesses, the tail of Lt. Punnell’s aircraft was shot off during a strafing run against the north Japanese seaplane base on Arakabesan Island.  His plane, continuing to dive, crashed into the waters offshore and sunk without …

ARM3c Walter Mintus, a VT-51 radioman from WWII found by Project Recover

Beaver County Remembers Walter Mintus, WWII MIA, In Video

Lauren Trecosta MIAs, Repatriations Leave a Comment

Beaver County Remembers Walter “Bert” Mintus in Video The Beaver County Times remembers ARM3c Walter “Bert” Mintus in video.  Mintus was a radioman on a TBM-1c Avenger. His plane crashed in 1944, and Mintus was declared Missing In Action (MIA). Project Recover located the Avenger in 2016.  Mintus took off from the USS San Jacinto on July 27th, 1944. His crew was on a mission to bomb a Japanese base on Malakal, Palau. His aircraft was in the lead position of four Avengers. According to reports, Mintus’ plane was in the lead by 3-5 miles when it was shot down. ARM3c Walter Mintus and his two crew-mates were declared Missing In Action.  The DPAA accounted for the gunner on the aircraft, Otis …