TBM Avenger

Otis E. Ingram, WWII Gunner, Accounted For By DPAA

Lauren TrecostaMIAs Accounted For, News 7 Comments

Navy Aviation Chief Ordnanceman Otis E. Ingram, a WWII gunner, killed in 1944, has been accounted for by the DPAA.  ACOM Ingram was a turret gunner aboard a TBM-1c Avenger and a member of the U.S. Navy Torpedo Squadron Fifty One (VT-51). Project Recover located that Avenger in 2016 and turned its findings over to the DPAA. Ingram and his crewmates were on a mission to bomb a Japanese base in Malakal Harbor, Palau.  His aircraft took off from the …

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

Lauren TrecostaMIAs, Repatriations 4 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 …

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

Beaver County Remembers Walter Mintus, WWII MIA, In Video

Lauren TrecostaMIAs, 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 …

Bentprop Palau Mission 18

PMAN XVIII – Project Recover Locates WWII TBM Avenger Aircraft

Lauren TrecostaNews, WWII Finds 1 Comment

PMAN XVIII – Project Recover Locates WWII TBM Avenger Team enjoys unseasonably cool winter. Mission starts with training on D.A.N. Emergency Oxygen Case and OTS Full Face Mask in the pool. Members cover more ground and target verification due to the Navigator Sonar from Scripps and UDEL drastically changing the efficiency of the team’s efforts. Nothing of interest found on land or in sea and obvious land targets are running dry. Old sites revisited for new members, corsair and B24. …