Officially designated as the very last three casualties of WWII by the US Department of Defense, the Fallen American Veterans Foundation (FAVF) working at the request of the surviving families will perform two expeditions to the Noville Peninsula on Antarctica’s Thurston Island, to establish the exact crash site location to up to 150 feet below the glacier’s surface. The men were entombed below the wing of their aircraft by survivors of the crash. FAVF will repatriate the well-preserved frozen bodies of (3) US Navy aircrewmen during a follow-up mission. The men perished when their converted reconnaissance patrol bomber (PB), a U.S. Navy Martin Mariner PBM-5 flying boat codenamed George 1, grazed a ridgeline, exploded and crashed on Antarctica’s Thurston Island, 30 December 1946 during ‘Operation Highjump.’ FAVF continues to work with the surviving family members and members of the US Congress to mandate the MIAs return.OpHjp became Admiral Richard Byrd’s 4th and the largest ever exploration of Antarctica. It included 4700 sailors, 13 ships and 23 aircraft. Six men survived and were rescued 13 days later.
Population(s) Served
Military personnel
Veterans
Budget
$2,500,000
