Latest news with #ArmyAirForces
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WWII pilot credited with saving airman's life is finally accounted for
A World War II pilot who was remembered for helping fellow servicemembers survive the plane crash that killed him has been accounted for, military officials said this week. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook, 23, of Georgetown, Texas, was a member of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), 10th Air Force during World War II, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. Before joining the military, McCook had graduated from Southwestern University and came from a family of pilots, according to local newspaper clippings gathered by the DPAA. McCook, nicknamed "Woody," served in China and Burma, according to newspaper clippings. He was one of 20 officers and enlisted men credited for a mission that air-dropped supplies to Allied forces battling Japanese troops in northern Burma. During his service, McCook received the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross, according to newspaper clippings. On August 3, 1943, McCook was the armor-gunner on the B-25C "Mitchell," conducting a low-altitude bombing raid over Meiktila, Burma, the DPAA said. The raid was meant to target the Meiktila dam and nearby Japanese barracks, according to a newspaper clipping. The aircraft crashed during the mission. McCook and three others aboard the plane died, but two men survived. One of the survivors, identified in newspaper clippings as Sgt. John Boyd, said the plane had been hit by an explosive gas shell while flying at a low altitude. McCook, who Boyd recalled "as the best in the business," was able to bring the damaged plane up to an altitude that allowed Boyd and the other surviving soldier to parachute from the craft before it crashed. Boyd said this action allowed him to survive. He and the other soldier were taken captive by Japanese forces, the DPAA said. Boyd spent two years as a prisoner in Rangoon before he was freed, according to newspaper clippings. McCook's remains were not recovered. He was eventually listed as missing in action. In 1947, after World War II ended, the American Grave Registration Service recovered four sets of remains from a common grave near a village in Burma, the DPAA said. Locals said the four sets of remains, designated X-282A-D, were from an "American crash," the DPAA said. But the remains were not identified at the time. They were interred as "Unknowns" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii. McCook's name was listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. In January 2022, the DPAA disinterred all four sets of remains and taken to the agency's laboratory. Dental, anthropological and isotope analyses were conducted. Other military agencies used mitochondrial DNA analysis and genome sequencing data to help identify the remains. The processes allowed the DPAA to identify one of the sets of remains as belonging to McCook. Now that McCook has been accounted for, a rosette has been placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing. He will be buried in his hometown in August 2025, the DPAA said. Sneak peek: Where is Jermain Charlo? Baldwin grills McMahon on unallocated funds for students, schools, approved by Congress Hegseth orders Navy to rename USNS Harvey Milk, Jeffries calls it "a complete and total disgrace"
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Historic Hill Air Force Base chapel reopens following years of extensive renovations
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah () — The Mazer Chapel, one of the oldest buildings at the Hill Aerospace Museum, is ready to reopen its doors to the public after completing two years of renovations earlier this week. The chapel, which was originally built in 1942, closed to the public in 2023 in order to accommodate upgrades and several preservation efforts. Renovations included a roof and window replacements, pew repairs, new carpet, freshly painted walls, refinished wood, updated restrooms, a new sound system, as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Officials said these renovations were necessary after decades of heavy use. 'We are thrilled about this renovation project,' said Aaron Clark, museum director. 'Renovating and preserving World War II-era Army Air Forces chapel ensures the vital stories of local and national history are not forgotten over time.' Hill Air Force Base officials described the chapel as a vital part of the base and its communities for decades after it originally opened in the 1940s. It was first renovated in 1945 following a major fire and then remodeled just three years later. In 1964, it was replaced by a new base chapel but continued to serve as an education building and office space. That was until 1984, when the base declared the chapel was 'excess' and scheduled it for demolition. PBS program Antiques Roadshow films at Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City However, instead of demolishing the building, the Cultural Resource Program coordinated with the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah to fund the relocation of the chapel to museum grounds and restore it. It has since become a permanent part of the museum's Memorial Park. 'Renovating the chapel provides a meaningful community gathering space that blends history with ongoing civic and cultural engagement,' said Clark. 'This unique historic structure serves as a tangible connection to Utah's World War II involvement, offering educational opportunities for future generations to ensure the sacrifices of Airmen from decades ago are not forgotten.' A bat in Morgan County has tested positive for rabies, health officials warn Historic Hill Air Force Base chapel reopens following years of extensive renovations Utah House Republicans elects new leadership members Elon Musk blasts spending bill Surge of moisture brings storms to southern Utah, raising flash flood potential Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hill Air Force Base's Mazer Chapel reopens after 2 years of renovations
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah () — Mazer Chapel, one of Hill Air Force Base's oldest buildings, reopened today for event use. Built in 1942, the chapel, now located at the Hill Aerospace Museum, has experienced decades of heavy use, which led to an expansive renovation project over the past two years. Renovations included a new roof, siding, windows, and carpet, along with pew repairs, freshly painted walls, refinished wood, as well as modernized restrooms, sound systems, and HVAC. 'We are thrilled about this renovation project,' Museum Director Aaron Clark said in a press release. 'Renovating and preserving a World War II-era Army Air Forces chapel ensures the vital stories of local and national history are not forgotten over time.' This is not the first time the chapel has undergone renovations. In 1945, a major fire forced renovation, and in 1948, it was remodeled. A new Base chapel replaced it in 1964, but it remained in use as an education building and extra office space, until it was declared excess in 1984, which led to it being scheduled for demolition. PREVIOUSLY: Detonation season is starting at Hill Air Force Base – and you might hear a boom or two However, rather than allowing the building to be demolished, the Hill Air Force Base Cultural Resource Program worked with the Aerospace Foundation of Utah to help relocate the chapel to the museum grounds and begin restoration work. It became a permanent fixture of the museum's Memorial Park upon its rededication in 1989. 'Visiting the Mazer Chapel offers guests a unique, immersive way to connect with history,' Clark added. 'As a space where service members and installation personnel once gathered during the world's most destructive conflict to rejoice in faith and hope for victory, or mourn the war's impact, it fosters reflection on the courage, unity, and sacrifice of those who came before us. It will bridge the gap between the past and the present.' The chapel will be fully open to the public in two weeks. Visit the to book an event. Cedar City man arrested for allegedly sending sexual photos to officer posing as 12-year-old Charges filed against Utah man who allegedly messaged missing 15-year-old before her disappearance Weber County School District considering tax increase Hill Air Force Base's Mazer Chapel reopens after 2 years of renovations Man Labs Skincare tops our Father's Day must-have list Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Illinois professor helps find 4 from WWII bomber crash that left 11 dead
As the World War II bomber Heaven Can Wait was hit by enemy fire off the Pacific island of New Guinea on March 11, 1944, the co-pilot managed a final salute to flyers in an adjacent plane before crashing into the water. All 11 men aboard were killed. Their remains, deep below the vast sea, were designated as non-recoverable. Yet four crew members' remains are beginning to return to their hometowns after a remarkable investigation by family members and a recovery mission involving elite Navy divers who descended 200 feet (61 meters) in a pressurized bell to reach the sea floor. Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan, the radio operator, was buried with military honors and community support on Saturday in his hometown of Wappingers Falls, New York, more than eight decades after leaving behind his wife and baby son. The bombardier, 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, was to be buried Monday in Livermore, California, where he grew up in a ranching family. The remains of the pilot, 1st Lt. Herbert Tennyson, and navigator, 2nd Lt. Donald Sheppick, will be interred in the coming months. The ceremonies are happening 12 years after one of Kelly's relatives, Scott Althaus, set out to solve the mystery of where exactly the plane went down. 'I'm just so grateful,' he told The Associated Press. 'It's been an impossible journey — just should never have been able to get to this day. And here we are, 81 years later.' March 11, 1944: Bomber down The Army Air Forces plane nicknamed Heaven Can Wait was a B-24 with a cartoon pin-up angel painted on its nose and a crew of 11 on its final flight. They were on a mission to bomb Japanese targets when the plane was shot down. Other flyers on the mission were not able to spot survivors. Their wives, parents and siblings were of a generation that tended to be tight-lipped in their grief. But the men were sorely missed. Sheppick, 26, and Tennyson, 24, each left behind pregnant wives who would sometimes write them two or three letters a day. Darrigan, 26, also was married, and had been able to attend his son's baptism while on leave. A photo shows him in uniform, smiling as he holds the boy. Darrigan's wife, Florence, remarried but quietly held on to photos of her late husband, as well as a telegram informing her of his death. Tennyson's wife, Jean, lived until age 96 and never remarried. 'She never stopped believing that he was going to come home,' said her grandson, Scott Jefferson. Memorial Day 2013: The Search As Memorial Day approached 12 years ago, Althaus asked his mother for names of relatives who died in World War II. Althaus, a political science and communications professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, became curious while researching World War II casualties for work. His mother gave him the name of her cousin Thomas Kelly, who was 21 years old when he was reported missing in action. Althaus recalled that as a boy, he visited Kelly's memorial stone, which has a bomber engraved on it. He began reading up on the lost plane. 'It was a mystery that I discovered really mattered to my extended family,' he said. With help from other relatives, he analyzed historical documents, photos and eyewitness recollections. They weighed sometimes conflicting accounts of where the plane went down. After a four-year investigation, Althaus wrote a report concluding that the bomber likely crashed off of Awar Point in what is now Papua New Guinea The report was shared with Project Recover, a nonprofit committed to finding and repatriating missing American service members and a partner of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA. A team from Project Recover, led by researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, located the debris field in 2017 after searching nearly 10 square miles (27 square kilometers) of seafloor. The DPAA launched its deepest ever underwater recovery mission in 2023. A Navy dive team recovered dog tags, including Darrigan's partially corroded tag with his the name of his wife, Florence, as an emergency contact. Kelly's ring was recovered. The stone was gone, but the word BOMBARDIER was still legible. And they recovered remains that underwent DNA testing. Last September, the military officially accounted for Darrigan, Kelly, Sheppick and Tennyson. With seven men who were on the plane still unaccounted for, a future DPAA mission to the site is possible. Memorial Day 2025: Belated Homecomings More than 200 people honored Darrigan on Saturday in Wappingers Falls, some waving flags from the sidewalk during the procession to the church, others saluting him at a graveside ceremony under cloudy skies. 'After 80 years, this great soldier has come home to rest,' Darrigan's great niece, Susan Pineiro, told mourners at his graveside. Darrigan's son died in 2020, but his grandson Eric Schindler attended. Darrigan's 85-year-old niece, Virginia Pineiro, solemnly accepted the folded flag. Kelly's remains arrived in the Bay Area on Friday. He was to be buried Monday at his family's cemetery plot, right by the marker with the bomber etched on it. A procession of Veterans of Foreign Wars motorcyclists will pass by Kelly's old home and high school before he is interred. 'I think it's very unlikely that Tom Kelly's memory is going to fade soon,' said Althaus, now a volunteer with Project Recover. Sheppick will be buried in the months ahead near his parents in a cemetery in Coal Center, Pennsylvania. His niece, Deborah Wineland, said she thinks her late father, Sheppick's younger brother, would have wanted it that way. The son Sheppick never met died of cancer while in high school. Tennyson will be interred on June 27 in Wichita, Kansas. He'll be buried beside his wife, Jean, who died in 2017, just months before the wreckage was located. 'I think because she never stopped believing that he was coming back to her, that it's only fitting she be proven right,' Jefferson said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
27-05-2025
- General
WWII bomber crash left 11 dead and 'non-recoverable.' 4 are finally coming home
WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. -- As the World War II bomber Heaven Can Wait was hit by enemy fire off the Pacific island of New Guinea on March 11, 1944, the co-pilot managed a final salute to flyers in an adjacent plane before crashing into the water. All 11 men aboard were killed. Their remains, deep below the vast sea, were designated as non-recoverable. Yet four crew members' remains are beginning to return to their hometowns after a remarkable investigation by family members and a recovery mission involving elite Navy divers who descended 200 feet (61 meters) in a pressurized bell to reach the sea floor. Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan, the radio operator, was buried with military honors and community support on Saturday in his hometown of Wappingers Falls, New York, more than eight decades after leaving behind his wife and baby son. The bombardier, 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, was to be buried Monday in Livermore, California, where he grew up in a ranching family. The remains of the pilot, 1st Lt. Herbert Tennyson, and navigator, 2nd Lt. Donald Sheppick, will be interred in the coming months. The ceremonies are happening 12 years after one of Kelly's relatives, Scott Althaus, set out to solve the mystery of where exactly the plane went down. 'I'm just so grateful,' he told The Associated Press. 'It's been an impossible journey — just should never have been able to get to this day. And here we are, 81 years later.' The Army Air Forces plane nicknamed Heaven Can Wait was a B-24 with a cartoon pin-up angel painted on its nose and a crew of 11 on its final flight. They were on a mission to bomb Japanese targets when the plane was shot down. Other flyers on the mission were not able to spot survivors. Their wives, parents and siblings were of a generation that tended to be tight-lipped in their grief. But the men were sorely missed. Sheppick, 26, and Tennyson, 24, each left behind pregnant wives who would sometimes write them two or three letters a day. Darrigan, 26, also was married, and had been able to attend his son's baptism while on leave. A photo shows him in uniform, smiling as he holds the boy. Darrigan's wife, Florence, remarried but quietly held on to photos of her late husband, as well as a telegram informing her of his death. Tennyson's wife, Jean, lived until age 96 and never remarried. 'She never stopped believing that he was going to come home,' said her grandson, Scott Jefferson. As Memorial Day approached 12 years ago, Althaus asked his mother for names of relatives who died in World War II. Althaus, a political science and communications professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, became curious while researching World War II casualties for work. His mother gave him the name of her cousin Thomas Kelly, who was 21 years old when he was reported missing in action. Althaus recalled that as a boy, he visited Kelly's memorial stone, which has a bomber engraved on it. He began reading up on the lost plane. 'It was a mystery that I discovered really mattered to my extended family,' he said. With help from other relatives, he analyzed historical documents, photos and eyewitness recollections. They weighed sometimes conflicting accounts of where the plane went down. After a four-year investigation, Althaus wrote a report concluding that the bomber likely crashed off of Awar Point in what is now Papua New Guinea The report was shared with Project Recover, a nonprofit committed to finding and repatriating missing American service members and a partner of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA. A team from Project Recover, led by researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, located the debris field in 2017 after searching nearly 10 square miles (27 square kilometers) of seafloor. The DPAA launched its deepest ever underwater recovery mission in 2023. A Navy dive team recovered dog tags, including Darrigan's partially corroded tag with his the name of his wife, Florence, as an emergency contact. Kelly's ring was recovered. The stone was gone, but the word BOMBARDIER was still legible. And they recovered remains that underwent DNA testing. Last September, the military officially accounted for Darrigan, Kelly, Sheppick and Tennyson. With seven men who were on the plane still unaccounted for, a future DPAA mission to the site is possible. More than 200 people honored Darrigan on Saturday in Wappingers Falls, some waving flags from the sidewalk during the procession to the church, others saluting him at a graveside ceremony under cloudy skies. 'After 80 years, this great soldier has come home to rest,' Darrigan's great niece, Susan Pineiro, told mourners at his graveside. Darrigan's son died in 2020, but his grandson Eric Schindler attended. Darrigan's 85-year-old niece, Virginia Pineiro, solemnly accepted the folded flag. Kelly's remains arrived in the Bay Area on Friday. He was to be buried Monday at his family's cemetery plot, right by the marker with the bomber etched on it. A procession of Veterans of Foreign Wars motorcyclists will pass by Kelly's old home and high school before he is interred. 'I think it's very unlikely that Tom Kelly's memory is going to fade soon,' said Althaus, now a volunteer with Project Recover. Sheppick will be buried in the months ahead near his parents in a cemetery in Coal Center, Pennsylvania. His niece, Deborah Wineland, said she thinks her late father, Sheppick's younger brother, would have wanted it that way. The son Sheppick never met died of cancer while in high school. Tennyson will be interred on June 27 in Wichita, Kansas. He'll be buried beside his wife, Jean, who died in 2017, just months before the wreckage was located. 'I think because she never stopped believing that he was coming back to her, that it's only fitting she be proven right,' Jefferson said.
