Finding ‘Heaven Can Wait’; Family Shares MIA Research

Lauren TrecostaMIAs, Research 16 Comments

Kelly Family Shares MIA Research On Memorial Day 2013, Scott Althaus did what he thought every family should do on Memorial Day; he began searching WWII records for his family’s war heroes and MIAs. One of the men he wanted to research was his cousin once removed, 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, Jr., who had been Missing In Action (MIA) since 1944. Lt. Kelly served as a bombardier in an 11-member crew aboard a B-24 bomber called Heaven Can Wait. Their mission that day was to bomb anti-aircraft positions on Awar Point at the northwest corner of Hansa Bay. Kelly’s B-24 took fire, became engulfed in flames, and crashed into the water off Papua New Guinea. According to a 1992  letter …

Photo of the Heaven Can Wait B24 which Project Recover located near Papua, New Guinea.

The New York Times Reports Project Recover Locates B-24, Heaven Can Wait

Lauren TrecostaNews, WWII Finds 2 Comments

The New York Times reports that Project Recover locates the B-24 ‘Heaven Can Wait’ in Hansa Bay, New Guinea, 74 years after it was shot down Japanese anti-aircraft fire. The B-24 ‘Heaven Can Wait’ was on a mission to disrupt Japanese shipping and supply chains when it was shot down. Lt. Thomas Kelly, Jr., was a bombardier aboard the B-24 and one of the 11-member crew who died that day. On Memorial Day, nearly a century later, Kelly’s cousin once removed began casual research into his family’s war heroes. The research project grew with each fact he discovered. It quickly grew into a family research project that spanned 5 years and included nearly 20 family members. Read the complete New …

Photo of the Heaven Can Wait B24 which Project Recover located near Papua, New Guinea.

Project Recover Locates WWII B-24 Bomber, Heaven Can Wait

Lauren TrecostaNews, WWII Finds 67 Comments

May 22, 2018 – A B-24 D-1 bomber, Heaven Can Wait, associated with 11 American servicemen missing in action from World War II was recently found and documented in Hansa Bay off Papua, New Guinea by Project Recover—a collaborative team of marine scientists, archaeologists, and volunteers who have combined efforts to locate aircraft associated with MIAs from WWII. The crew of “Heaven Can Wait” was part of the 320th squadron of the “Jolly Rogers” 90th Bombardment Group and was on a mission to bomb Japanese anti-aircraft batteries around Hansa Bay on March 11, 1944, when their B-24 was shot down by enemy fire causing it to crash into the ocean. The crew had arrived in Papua New Guinea just four …