thedrifter
04-25-08, 06:51 AM
Texarkana group will go to South Pacific to find remains of World War II Marines
By JULIE PARR jparr@ktbs.com
Created: April 24, 2008 07:05 PM
Modified: April 24, 2008 07:06 PM
A group of Texarkana senior adults will be going on a mission next month to recover the remains of 10 U.S. Marines in the South Pacific killed in a plane crash in World War II.
"It will be a difficult trip, but it will be a memorable trip," said Merle Morris, who is among those traveling to the island of Espirtu Santo to help to try to find the remains of the men whose plane crashed into the side of mountain during a thunderstorm in 1944.
Morris said a government search agency has known the location of the men for several years, but hasn't made any attempts to recover them.
"We're not interested in why they haven't been brought home. We want to know when they will be brought home," she said.
The Marines' remains were discovered by Dr. Dan Bookout back in the early 1990s. He was searching the jungles of Vanuatu for Texarkana native and World War II veteran Wayland Bennett, whose body was returned home in September 1994.
Now Bookout is returning with a group of Texarkana residents to recover the other missing Marines.
"Those guys didn't just give some. They gave their all for this country and their freedom," Bookout said.
The group is using GPS technology to locate the remains.
Morris said once they find them, they plan to contact the search agency to have them returned to their hometowns.
"I know there are over 78,000 missing from World War II. Some will never be found, but the ones they know where they are, bring them home," she said.
Ellie
By JULIE PARR jparr@ktbs.com
Created: April 24, 2008 07:05 PM
Modified: April 24, 2008 07:06 PM
A group of Texarkana senior adults will be going on a mission next month to recover the remains of 10 U.S. Marines in the South Pacific killed in a plane crash in World War II.
"It will be a difficult trip, but it will be a memorable trip," said Merle Morris, who is among those traveling to the island of Espirtu Santo to help to try to find the remains of the men whose plane crashed into the side of mountain during a thunderstorm in 1944.
Morris said a government search agency has known the location of the men for several years, but hasn't made any attempts to recover them.
"We're not interested in why they haven't been brought home. We want to know when they will be brought home," she said.
The Marines' remains were discovered by Dr. Dan Bookout back in the early 1990s. He was searching the jungles of Vanuatu for Texarkana native and World War II veteran Wayland Bennett, whose body was returned home in September 1994.
Now Bookout is returning with a group of Texarkana residents to recover the other missing Marines.
"Those guys didn't just give some. They gave their all for this country and their freedom," Bookout said.
The group is using GPS technology to locate the remains.
Morris said once they find them, they plan to contact the search agency to have them returned to their hometowns.
"I know there are over 78,000 missing from World War II. Some will never be found, but the ones they know where they are, bring them home," she said.
Ellie