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Breakthrough for families 12 years after WWII bomber crash

Diane Christie wears a necklace with a photograph of her uncle, World War II U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly
Diane Christie wears a necklace with a photograph of her uncle, World War II U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
  • The remains of four crew members from the WWII bomber "Heaven Can Wait," which crashed off the coast of New Guinea in 1944, are being returned home after a decades-long search.
  • The plane, a B-24, was shot down by enemy fire on March 11, 1944, resulting in the death of all 11 crew members; the wreckage was initially deemed non-recoverable.
  • A relentless investigation by family members led to the discovery of the crash site and a recovery mission by Navy divers, who retrieved remains from 200 feet below the surface.
  • Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan was buried in Wappingers Falls, New York, on Saturday, and 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly was buried in Livermore, California, on Monday; 1st Lt. Herbert Tennyson and 2nd Lt. Donald Sheppick will be interred in the coming months.
  • The recovery and repatriation were made possible through the efforts of Project Recover and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), with a possible future mission to account for the remaining seven crew members still missing.
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