Project Recover Continues MIA Search in Palau
July 13, 2023, Woodland, CA- This month, 15 Project Recover team members are conducting a MIA recovery mission in Palau. During World War II, the U.S. conducted nine major air campaigns over the island nation of Palau, resulting in the loss of over 200 aircraft and 1,800 service members. Project Recover has located 37 aircraft sites in Palau associated with 89 MIAs/ POWs and has brought home 13 American heroes from those sites. An estimated 480 American service members remain missing in action on the island.
About Project Recover- Project Recover is a collaborative effort to enlist 21st-century science and technology to find and repatriate Americans missing in action (MIA) since World War II to provide recognition and closure for families and the Nation.
Project Recover began as Dr. Pat Scannon’s vision to bring MIAs home from Palau in 1993. Formerly known as The BentProp Project, the organization has grown from a grassroots effort to a team of dedicated professionals and volunteers using innovative science to bring our MIAs home. Over nearly three decades, Project Recover has been working in full cooperation with host nations and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). During this time, Project Recover has repatriated over 17 MIAs and located more than 65 U.S. World War II aircraft associated with more than 250 MIAs in global missions. Currently, based on the work of Project Recover, there are over 100 MIAs awaiting recovery worldwide, over 700 cases in our growing database, and over 3,000 associated with ongoing investigations.
In 2012, Project Recover was informally founded as a collaborative partnership between the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Delaware. In 2016, the partnership was formalized. In 2018, The BentProp Project officially changed its name to Project Recover. The organization works in close partnership with Scripps and UDel.
Information provided by Project Recover.*
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