Heaven Can Wait Family Reunion - Project Recover is committed to bringing the MIA home. Photos by Harry Parker Photography.com

Relatives of WWII B-24 Crew Gather For Heaven Can Wait ‘Family Reunion’

Harry Parker Families, MIAs 12 Comments

Heaven Can Wait Family Reunion On March 11, 1944, a World War II B-24 bomber called Heaven Can Wait came under anti-aircraft fire and crashed in the waters off Papua, New Guinea, killing all 11 crew members onboard. Seventy-four years later, on October 13th, 2018, relatives of the crew members gathered for a “family reunion” in Victoria, Minnesota. Using side-scanning sonars, high definition images, and underwater robotic technologies, Project Recover located the B-24 in 2017 under 213 feet of water. The family of  Bombardier 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly, Jr, provided extensive research helping Project Recover to locate the aircraft within two weeks on the water. Scott Althaus, lead Kelly family researcher and first cousin once removed to the Bombardier, …

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

Harry Parker News, 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

Harry Parker News, 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 …

WWII B-25 Bombers located by Project Recover one of Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2017

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December 22, 2017 – WWII B-25 Bombers located by Project Recover off Papua New Guinea named one of the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2017 by HeritageDaily. In 2017, a Project Recover team traveled to Papua New Guinea to survey a large underwater area hoping to locate missing two WWII B-25 bombers. The Project Recover team includes volunteers and professionals from several fields including Archaeology, History, Oceanography, and Engineering. This interdisciplinary team was able to combine decades of expertise to narrow down a search area and then use advanced technology to scan the seafloor for missing aircraft – autonomous robots and human divers can then further investigate and document finds such as the two B-25 bombers which crashed into the sea …

The wreckage of a B-25 bomber documented by Project Recover in the waters of Papua New Guinea.

Two WWII B-25 Bombers Documented by Project Recover Off Papua New Guinea

Harry Parker News, WWII Finds 10 Comments

May 23, 2017 – Two B-25 bombers associated with American servicemen missing in action from World War II were recently documented in the waters off Papua New Guinea by Project Recover—a collaborative team of marine scientists, archaeologists, and volunteers who have combined efforts to locate aircraft and associated MIAs from World War II. The B-25 bomber is one of the most iconic airplanes of World War II, with nearly 10,000 of the famous warbirds conducting a variety of missions—from bombing to photo reconnaissance, to submarine patrols and the historic raid over Tokyo. Present-day Papua New Guinea was the site of military action in the Pacific from January of 1942 to the end of the war in August 1945, with significant …