World War II bomber crew members’ remains to be interred after 81 years
On Memorial Day, the remains of 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, one of 11 crew members aboard the World War II bomber Heaven Can Wait, will be laid to rest in Livermore, California. Kelly was one of four crew members whose remains were recovered by Navy divers off the coast of New Guinea.
The crash occurred on March 11, 1944, and the remains were initially designated as non-recoverable. Seven soldiers remain missing. The ceremonies come 12 years after Kelly’s relative, Scott Althaus, began investigating the crash site.
“I’m just so grateful,” Althaus said. “It’s been an impossible journey… just should never have been able to get to this day. And here we are, 81 years later.”
Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan, another crew member, was buried Saturday, May 24, with military honors in his hometown of Wappingers Falls, New York. Darrigan, the radio operator, left behind his wife and son. His grandson, Eric Schindler, attended the ceremony, where more than 200 people paid their respects.
-
People line the street as the procession carrying the remains of World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan passes through to St. Mary’s church, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Darrigan was buried in his hometown after his remains were recovered from a World War II bomber that crashed into the water off the coast of Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) -
People line the street while they wait for the procession carrying the remains of World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan to pass through, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Darrigan was buried in his hometown after his remains were recovered from a World War II bomber that crashed into the water off the coast of Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) -
Diane Christie holds a recovered dog tag belonging to her uncle, World War II U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Leandro, Calif., whose remains had been missing since being killed when the World War II B-24 bomber, Heaven Can Wait, was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into the waters off the coast of Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) -
Diane Christie wears a necklace with a photograph of her uncle, World War II U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, inside Santos Robinson Mortuary, Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Leandro, Calif., whose remains had been missing since being killed when the World War II bomber nicknamed Heaven Can Wait was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into the water off the coast of New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) -
Fallon Haight, 5, center, waves an American flag while waiting for the procession carrying the remains of World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan to pass through, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Darrigan was buried in his hometown after his remains were recovered from the World War II bomber that crashed into the water off the coast of New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) -
Memorial cards for World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan sit at the entrance to St. Mary’s church, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Darrigan was buried in his hometown after his remains were recovered from the World War II bomber that crashed into the water off the coast of New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) -
Guests and family including Virginia “Ginny” Pineiro, right, attend the interment for World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan at the cemetery behind St. Mary’s church, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Darrigan was buried in his hometown after his remains were recovered from the World War II bomber that crashed into the water off the coast of New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Darrigan’s niece, Virginia Pineiro, accepted the folded flag in honor of her late uncle.
Kelly’s remains arrived in the Bay Area on Friday, May 23. He will be buried Monday, May 26, at his family’s cemetery plot, marked by a stone etched with the image of the bomber. A procession of Veterans of Foreign Wars motorcyclists will pass Kelly’s old home and high school before he is interred.
1st Lt. Herbert Tennyson, the pilot, and 2nd Lt. Donald Sheppick, the navigator, will be interred in the coming months. Sheppick will be buried near his parents in Coal Center, Pennsylvania. His niece, Deborah Wineland, believes her late father, Sheppick’s younger brother, would have wanted it that way.
Tennyson will be interred on June 27 in Wichita, Kansas, beside his wife, Jean, who died in 2017, just months before the wreckage was located.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
