Group Burial Service Held for WWII MIAs of the B-24 Liberator

A special service will be held today April 29, 2010 at the Arlington National Cemetery honoring the 8 noble crew members of the B-24 453 Liberator aircraft that crashed in Papua, New Guinea during World War II. The full military honors service will include a caisson to the burial plot, 21 gun salute and a fly over by the military. These American heroes will finally receive their proper salute with attendees expected to include over 50 of the crew's family members and 50 BentProp members, in addition to the President of the Republic of Palau, members of the U.S. Congress, military officials and more. Burial services will be followed by an invitation-only reception hosted by the BentProp team and the 307th BG(H) Reunion Group. This event was made possible thanks to the discoveries of Dr. Patrick Scannon and the BentProp Project, as the families of these long undiscovered World War II Airmen are able to have closure over 65 years later.

After decades where the whereabouts of these brave men went unknown, Dr. Scannon and his group of inspired volunteers began their important mission. He eloquently explained his motivation in a recent interview, 'These men died trying to protect our country. I don't want them to be forgotten. We are grateful. We want to say thank you.' The ongoing efforts of the BentProp Project are captured in the Janson Media DVD Last Flight Home (1 x 67'), now available worldwide. For more information on the documentary film and MIA search work, please visit the Last Flight Home facebook page.

They bravely served their country during some of the most brutal battles of World War II so we could have the freedom we enjoy today. But, in an instant, they were lost to their families forever. For more than 60 years, the whereabouts of these fallen heroes remained a mystery...until now. More than 200 aircraft plunged onto and around the islands of Palau during WWII battle with nearly half of their crew still listed as Missing in Action (MIA) today. Last Flight Home follows Dr. Patrick Scannon and his team of volunteers as they search the waters and jungles of Palau attempting to locate information that can lead to the identification and recovery of remains of these American MIAs. The research of Scannon's BentProp team has found over 26 American aircraft and identified five sites containing 15 MIAs.