On January 26, 1950, a U.S. Air Force C-54 Skymaster (serial number 42-72469), departed Anchorage, Alaska for Great Falls, Montana. The aircraft was carrying 42 U.S. servicemen and a mother and child. U.S. Air Force C-54 Skymaster As the aircraft crossed into Yukon, Canada, they radioed the tiny outpost of Snag to report they were flying in heavy icing conditions. The plane never checked in with the next outpost located 100 miles away. Despite extensive search efforts involving both military and civilian teams, no wreckage or survivors were ever found. The disappearance of the C-54 Skymaster occurred in a challenging, remote area, which hampered search efforts. Due to advances in remote sensing technologies and a dedicated team of investigators, Project …
Cleveland Airman Missing Since World War Two Identified and Returning Home
Friday, February 28th – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has publicly announced that they have positively identified the remains of 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum who had been missing in action since 1944. McCollum entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Cleveland, Ohio. The initial survey and the recovery projects leading up to these identifications were completed in partnership with Project Recover and other experts in the field. McCollum was a bombardier assigned to the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater. On June 20, 1944, McCollum and several other members of his crew went missing in action when their B-24J Liberator bomber collided with another …
Remains of Wichita Airman Positively Identified 80 Years After Final Mission
February 25, 2025 – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), in partnership with Project Recover and other experts in the field, has announced that they have positively identified the remains of 1st Lt. Herbert G. Tennyson, who had been Missing In Action since World War II. The 24-year-old from Wichita, KS served as pilot in a B-24 bomber named Heaven Can Wait that was shot down over a remote bay in Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944. In 2017 the missing bomber was located underwater at a depth of over 200 feet by the partnership Project Recover, leading to a 2023 mission by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to recover crew remains from the wreck site. At the time, …
Project Recover Welcomes New Advisory Council Member
Major General William J. Walker, USA (Ret.) Chief Security Officer, Allied Universal, brings leadership expertise and passion to help return American service members missing in action Project Recover, a global nonprofit dedicated to repatriating American service members missing in action (MIA) and providing answers and closure to MIA Gold Star Families, is proud to announce the appointment of Major General William J. Walker (Ret.) to its Advisory Council. “We are honored to welcome MG Walker, Chief Security Officer for Allied Universal, a leading security services company with over 800,000 employees in 90 countries to the Project Recover Advisory Council,” said Derek Abbey, President & CEO of Project Recover. “MG Walker joins us as a highly respected strategic leader with a rich …
Remains of Wappinger Falls Airman Positively Identified 80 Years After Final Mission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2025 – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), in partnership with Project Recover and other experts in the field, has announced that they have positively identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Eugene J. Darrigan who had been Missing In Action since World War II. The 26-year-old from Wappinger Falls, NY served as radio operator in a B-24 bomber named Heaven Can Wait that was shot down over a remote bay in Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944. In 2017 the missing bomber was located underwater at a depth of over 200 feet by the partnership Project Recover, leading to a 2023 mission by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to recover crew remains from the …
Project Recover Welcomes New Advisory Council Members
Rear Admiral Frank Thorp IV, USN (Ret), Bridget Guerrero CBCP, and Stacy McCarthy PCC bring their leadership expertise and passion to help return American service members missing in action Project Recover, a global nonprofit dedicated to repatriating American service members missing in action and providing answers and closure to MIA Gold Star Families, is proud to announce the appointment of three distinguished leaders to its Advisory Council. Rear Admiral Frank Thorp IV, USN (Ret); Bridget Guerrero, Director, Security Strategy and Resilience at Viasat; and Stacy McCarthy, Partner, Aesara Partners. “We are thrilled to welcome Frank, Bridget, and Stacy to our Council,” said Derek Abbey, President & CEO of Project Recover. “Their robust backgrounds and diverse professional experience are valuable additions …
Project Recover Announces New Mission: Locate US Air Force B-52 and Aircrew Gone Missing Offshore Texas Coast in 1968
“Rog 88” was the pilot’s abbreviated, almost casual response to the duty controller’s request for a radio check. On hearing that standard radio-communications exchange over the intercom of his remote radar bomb scoring (RBS) site on the Texas shoreline, the young radar operator broke lock on the massive B-52 bomber he’d been tracking and repositioned the antenna atop his trailer 140° to the left. Satisfied the pencil beam of his radar was trained on the bomb run “front door” 70 miles away to the northeast, he left his trailer for a ten-minute break before MEAL 88 would return through that imaginary point in space at 800 feet above the water and 350 knots indicated airspeed for the aircrew’s third and …
Remains of Livermore Airman Positively Identified 80 Years After Final Mission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 17th, 2024 – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), in partnership with Project Recover and other experts in the field, has announced that they have positively identified the remains of 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly, Jr., who had been Missing In Action since World War II. The 21-year-old from Livermore, CA served as bombardier in a B-24 bomber named “Heaven Can Wait” that was shot down over a remote bay in Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944. In 2017 the missing bomber was located underwater at a depth of over 200 feet by the nonprofit group Project Recover, leading to a 2023 mission by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to recover crew remains from the …
DPAA Accounts for LT Jay R. Manown, Jr.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that, in partnership with Project Recover and other experts in the field, they accounted for LT Jay R. Manown, Jr. LT Manown was a TBM-1c Avenger pilot who, until this announcement, was Missing in Action. Project Recover located the downed Avenger in Palauan waters in 2015. The Avenger took off from the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier on September 10, 1944. The crew was part of Torpedo Squadron 20 (VT-20), which was on a bombing mission targeting antiaircraft positions and transport ships on and near Malakal Harbor in Palau. The USS Enterprise and 15 other aircraft carriers were in the area. They were all part of Task Force 38. Together, they were conducting strikes …
Kenneth Whitesell, VADM, USN(ret.) Joins Project Recover Board of Directors
Project Recover is pleased to announce the appointment of its newest board member, Vice Admiral Kenneth Whitesell, United States Navy retired. Kenneth’s introduction to and journey toward this unique organization began over Memorial Day weekend, 2023, when Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial chose to honor and memorialize former MIA, Aviation Radioman 3rd Class Walter Mintus. As then the Commander of the Naval Air Forces, he was invited to share the podium with Project Recover’s Pat Scannon. As part of his preparation, he watched the documentary “To What Remains”. He felt an immediate connection with the Project Recover mission, our dedication to the promise of “no man left behind” and the immense effort executed to return the remains of those still …
