The remains of a WW II bomber pilot are coming home to Kansas to be laid to rest in Wichita.

The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Herbert G. Tennyson were recently identified after the undersea search for the B-24 Liberator he was flying was found in the waters off Papua, New Guinea.

Scott Althaus with Project Recover joined in on the KSAL Morning New Extra with a look back at that fateful day in 1944 for the crew onboard “Heaven Can Wait.”

Althaus began researching the bomber’s final mission back in 2013, because he wanted to know more about his cousin’s fate who was also a member of the crew onboard. That led to a positive sonar ping in 2017, an underwater investigation in 2019 and a recovery team that worked the site in 2023.

1st Lt. Tennyson was just 24 years old when he died in action versus Japanese forces on March 11th 1944. He will be buried in Wichita with full military honors on Friday, June 27th.

1st Lt. Herbert G. Tennyson is second from left on the front row in this photo of the “Heaven Can Wait” crew in 1943. Photo Courtesy Project Recovery

Project Recover is dedicated to searching for and locating American MIAs and POWs from conflicts around the world.

According to the group’s website, they use a collaborative effort to enlist 21st-century science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate Americans Missing In Action (MIA) since World War II in order to provide recognition and closure for families and the Nation.