The remains of a missing World War II veteran have been recovered and identified at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The expedition—213 feet below the surface—is the US government’s deepest underwater recovery operation to date.
On March 11, 1944, a B-24 bomber known as “Heaven Can Wait” was shot down over Papua New Guinea. The aircraft—carrying 11 US service members—was en route to bomb Japanese anti-aircraft weapons on the island’s northeast coast. Early last year, Navy divers recovered the dog tags and remains of 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr.—a 21-year-old aviator from California. The remains of two other veterans—radio operator Eugene J. Darrigan, 26, and navigator 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick, 26—were identified earlier this year.
The mission came about after Kelly’s family members conducted an extensive research project from 2013 to 2017, gathering historical documents and eyewitness accounts to narrow the wreckage search.