Latest news with #B-24DLiberator
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Washington County native, WWII Army Air Forces airman finally accounted for
A Washington County native and Army Air Forces airman killed during World War II has finally been accounted for. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said on Thursday that 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick, 26, of Roscoe, was accounted for on Sept. 20, 2024. Sheppick was assigned to the 320th Bombardment in Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force in March 1944 and deployed in present-day Papua New Guinea, the DPAA said. On the morning of March 11, Sheppick was the navigator on a B-24D Liberator bomber named Heaven Can Wait. The bomber left from Nadzab Strip No. 1 in Papua New Guinea as part of a bombing mission against enemy positions on New Guinea's northern coast. Witnesses from other aircraft report seeing flames in the bomb bay of Sheppick's plane that were spreading to the tail. The bomber was seen pitching up before banking left and crashing into the water. Several aircraft searched for survivors in the area but couldn't find any. It's believed that anti-aircraft fire hit Sheppick's bomber and caused ordnances in the plane to explode, the DPAA says. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service searched battle areas and crash sites in New Guinea. It concluded the search in late 1948, and in 1950, AGRS officials designated Sheppick and his crew members as unrecoverable. In October 2017, DPAA partner organization Project Recover found a B-24's wreckage in Hansa Bay while making sonar scans. Recovery teams excavated the site between March 9 and April 13, 2023, and found possible remains. The evidence was sent to the DPAA's laboratory for analysis. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, to identify Sheppick's remains, the DPAA says. Also, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome DNA analysis. Sheppick's name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, along with others still missing from WWII, the DPAA says. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Sheppick will be buried in Belle Vernon, though the date has not been set. For family and funeral information, you can call the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490. Sheppick's personnel profile is viewable at Sheppick's initial ID announcement can be found at this link: Sheppick. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pennsylvanian killed during World War II accounted for
(WHTM) — A Pennsylvania airman killed during World War II was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The accounting agency announced that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick, 26, of Roscoe, Pennsylvania, was accounted for on Sept. 20, 2024. Sheppick's identification was allowed to be shared after his family was briefed. According to the accounting agency, in March 1994, Sheppick, a navigator onboard a B-24D Liberator bomber called 'Heaven Can Wait,' departed from Papua New Guinea on a bombing mission at Boram Airfield and Awar Point, Hansa Bay. The accounting agency said soldiers from another aircraft in the formation said they saw flames come from the bomb bay and spread to the tail. The plane crashed into the water, and no survivors were observed. The American Graves Registration Service (AGRS), which is responsible for recovering missing Americans in the Pacific Theater, couldn't locate Sheppick's remains, the accounting agency said. A DPAA underwater investigation team excavated the crash site in 2023 and was able to locate material evidence that was later sent to a DPAA Laboratory. Sheppick's remains were identified. The accounting agency said Sheppick will be buried in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, at a future date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania airman killed in WWII now accounted for, to be buried in Belle Vernon
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Washington County soldier who was recovered in 2017 is now set to be buried in Pennsylvania. U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick, 26, of Roscoe, Pennsylvania, was serving during World War II when he was deployed as part of a mission. In March 1944, he was assigned to the 320th Bombardment Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force and deployed in present-day Papua New Guinea. On March 11, he was on board the B-24D Liberator bomber called 'Heaven Can Wait' as part of a bombing mission against enemies on the northern coast. Observers from another aircraft reported seeing flames erupting from the bomb bay, spreading to the tail quickly. 19-year-old Pennsylvania soldier killed in WWII bomber crash accounted for Heaven Can Wait was seen pitching up violently before banking left and crashing into the water. It is believed that fire from the enemy hit the plane, causing an explosion. Several aircraft circled the crash site in hopes of locating any possible survivors, but none were found. After the war, military units started recovery missions for missing Americans in the Pacific Theater, and extensive searches were conducted, but the Heaven Can Wait crew members were not found. Then, between 2013 and 2017, a family member of another crew member worked to collect historical data about the accident and present that information. In 2016, Project Recover located the wreckage of the ship in Hansa Bay using sonar scans. In 2019, a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency underwater investigation team conducted several surveys of the wreckage, performing visual inspections and clearing the site of any dangers. From March 9 through April 13, 2023, an underwater recovery team excavated the crash site, where they recovered possible osseous materials and material evidence, including life support equipment and identification tags. The recovered evidence was sent to the DPAA Laboratory for review and analysis. Sheppick was then identified using dental and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. His family received a full briefing from the DPPA. His name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to show that he has been accounted for. He is set to be buried in Belle Vernon at a later date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Wichita WWII veteran found 150 feet deep in Pacific Ocean will now be given a proper funeral
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Wichita World War II Army Air Force Pilot, Herbert G. Tennyson, is coming home. His remains were found after being trapped deep in the Pacific Ocean for nearly 80 years. Project Recover, a non-profit, had a crew that was about to give up hope. When the video captured the first moments, they laid eyes on the plane. It was cheers of joy, as they knew they could finally bring some of those families closure. One of those veterans, Tennyson, is now going home for a proper funeral. In 2017, off the coast of present-day Papua New Guinea, crews were running out of time to find those killed in action in World War II. 'We were getting nervous, we didn't know where this specific plane was,' said Harrington Professor of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Mark Moline. Using new technologies and historical accounts, Moline, an oceanographer working with Project Recover, said the team located the B-24D Liberator, 'Heaven Can Wait', two miles from where it was shot down in 1944. Moline said meeting the families of those recovered is why they are so invested. 'The emotion and the human connection that you get when you're talking to loved ones that you've found, that have been gone for 80 years, there's nothing like it,' said Moline. After marrying the love of his life in Wichita, Tennyson was assigned to the 320th bombardment squadron, 90th bombardment group, 5th Air Force, and deployed to present-day Papua New Guinea. He was 24 at the time of the plane crash. His grandson, Scott Jefferson, is overwhelmed. 'For my family, having my grandfather come home was really an impossible dream,' said Jefferson. Tennyson's wife held out hope that they would find him until her passing in 2017, the same year he was found. Whitewater veteran says his military career set him up for success in life and love It's a love Tennyson's grandson is planning on honoring. 'The fact that I got to finally lay him to rest next to his beautiful wife, who never stopped believing he'd come home, I get emotional,' said Jefferson. For the team at Project Recover, over 81,000 Americans are still missing in action. Their job doesn't stop. 'Their families have waited, and the voids their families have been holding all these years, finally there's some closure to that, and being witness to that is one of the biggest thrills of my life,' said Moline. Jefferson said he had squared away a date, in late June, at Old Mission Cemetery, to make his first ever trip to Wichita, to bury his grandfather, next to his grandfather's life partner, Jean Tennyson. He hopes anyone in Wichita who wants to help honor his grandfather's service will attend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
U.S. pilot of crashed WWII bomber "Heaven Can Wait" is accounted for
An American pilot killed in World War II has been accounted for 80 years after his bomber — dubbed "Heaven Can Wait" — crashed off the coast of New Guinea, U.S. officials revealed Monday. U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Herbert G. Tennyson, 24, of Wichita, Kansas, was officially accounted for on Sept. 25, 2024, and Tennyson's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said in a news release. On March 11, 1944, Tennyson was the pilot onboard a B-24D Liberator bomber called "Heaven Can Wait" during a bombing mission in Hansa Bay, located along the northern coast of New Guinea. Officials said crew members from other aircraft in the formation reported seeing flames shooting out from the bomb bay and tail of Tennyson's plane. Military officials believe anti-aircraft fire had hit the plane, causing one of the bombs it was carrying to explode. Airmen from other planes in the formation reported seeing "Heaven Can Wait" pitching up violently before banking left and plummeting into the Pacific Ocean. Several aircraft circled the crash site to search for signs of life. "After the bombing run the formation circled to the right and endeavored with binoculars to see signs of survivors," Sgt. Arnold S. Smith, a waist gunner aboard another plane in the formation, reported at the time. "I could see no evidence that bodies remained at the surface." After the war, a special unit of the U.S. military conducted extensive searches of crash sites in New Guinea. In 1950, officials concluded the remains of Tennyson and the 10 other "Heaven Can Wait" crew members killed in the crash were non-recoverable. In October 2017, an organization called Project Recover located the wreckage of a B-24 aircraft in Hansa Bay while making sonar scans during a survey, and it was eventually confirmed to be the final resting place of "Heaven Can Wait." Two years later, a DPAA underwater investigation team conducted multiple surveys of the wreckage, clearing the site of any undetonated explosives. Finally, in 2023, an underwater recovery team excavated the crash site. The recovered evidence, which included life support equipment and identification tags, was sent to a DPAA laboratory for analysis. Scientists were finally able to identify Tennyson's remains, using dental and anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence. Tennyson will be buried in Wichita, Kansas, on a date yet to be determined. Tennyson is at least the fourth crewmember of "Heaven Can Wait" to be positively identified by the U.S. military. Just last month, DPAA announced that Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene J. Darrigan, 26, of Wappinger's Falls, New York, was accounted for. Darrigan was the radio operator on board the bomber. In November, DPAA announced that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr., 21, of Livermore, California, was accounted for. Kelly was the bombardier onboard "Heaven Can Wait." Two months before that, DPAA announced that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick, was accounted for. Sheppick was the navigator on the plane. Latest news on Pope Francis' health after lung infection, kidney failure Vatican releases update on Pope Francis' health "Taking on the Eiger" | 60 Minutes Archive
