Below is a link to the short documentary put together by Project Recover about the 2018 discovery of Heaven Can Wait, the B-24 bomber that went down over Hansa Bay, New Guinea during World War II. My uncle, John W Emmer, Jr, was on board as aerial photographer along with 10 other crew members.
Toward the end of the documentary, there is footage of the flag ceremony held by the Project Recover expedition crew in Hansa Bay… during which they read the names of all of the fallen, including my uncle. Somehow brought the whole thing home for me.
In addition to the documentary link, there are also links to local and national news stories that were published in the spring of 2018.
Also, here’s a bit about my own connection with my uncle: I had visited his grave site on Good Friday, which was the very day his plane was discovered under the bay.
On October 13, 2018, family members of the crew gathered, along with a number of the Project Recover staff, for an event that included sharing stories of the crew members and learning more about Project Recover’s work and mission. This informal event was called the Heaven Can Wait Family Reunion. Links to news stories about that event are below as well.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Excerpt from “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Project Recover: The Finding of ‘Heaven Can Wait’ B-24 from Kyle McBurnie on Vimeo.
Local news stories featuring uncle John:
FOX9 News – Minneapolis (May 23, 2018)
WCCO TV News – Minneapolis (May 27, 2018
Local news stories featuring other crew members and the discovery effort:
Illinois News Bureau (May 21, 2018)
Killeen Herald – Texas (May 22, 2018)
San Francisco Chronicle (May 22, 2018)
KGTV News – San Diego (May 25, 2018)
Poughkeepsie Journal (May 26, 2018)
YouTube story about Lt. Thomas Kelly (May 26, 2018)
News stories about the October 2018 Heaven Can Wait ‘Family Reunion’ event:
WCCO TV News (October 13, 2018)
FOX 9 News (October 14, 2018)
National news stories:
AP News (May 24, 2018)
Fox News (May 24, 2018)
Ha’aertz – Israel (May 24, 2018)
Fiji Times (May 25, 2018)
New York Times (May 28, 2018)
This must be a powerful Memorial Day for you Clayton. I can only imagine the impact it made on your father back in the day and how that had trickled down to you.
Finally got a chance to take a look at the blog and photos! This is a great resource to remember how everything came together! Thank you for putting it together Clayton.
-Bobby
Memory eternal!