WWII plane crash site discovered in Pacific Ocean
Courtesy of Project Recover
The crew of Heaven Can Wait
Courtesy of the Sheppick family
A family photo of a young Donald Sheppick
A childhood photo of Donald Sheppick
A map of the area around Papua New Guinea
Photo courtesy of Project Recover
Courtesy of Project Recover
Heaven Can Wait in the air
Marine scientists and archaeologists have discovered the wreckage of a bomber that carried 11 men, including one from the Mon Valley, and crashed during World War II into the Pacific Ocean, killing all aboard.
The group known as Project Recover used modern science and advanced diving technologies to locate the B-24 D-1 bomber in Hansa Bay, Papua New Guinea. The plane was shot down by enemy forces in 1944, taking the life of 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick of Roscoe.
“It was very, very tragic for the family,” said Nikki Sheppick of Charleroi, whose husband, Richard, is a nephew of the crash victim.
Project Recover has communicated the details of the crash site discovery to the U.S. government to “potentially set into motion a process for recovering and identifying the remains” of the crew members who have been missing in action for more than 70 years, the group stated in a Monday news release.
Nikki Sheppick said she heard about the discovery earlier this month when her husband was contacted by genealogists who were working to confirm the identities of relatives of the plane crash victims.
Photo courtesy of Project Recover
Courtesy of Project Recover
The underwater wreckage of Heaven Can Wait
She said her husband’s late father, Warren, was 12-years-old when the plane crashed, and the family rarely discussed Donald Sheppick’s death.
“It hurt (Warren) so bad that it affected him the rest of his life,” Nikki Sheppick said. “My husband said, ‘It was almost like he never existed to us.'”
The search for the plane was led by Eric Terrill, a founder of Project Recover and an oceanographer at the University of California San Diego.
“The results from our efforts in Hansa Bay have stirred a mix of lasting emotions within our team and drives home the need to recognize the sacrifices that service members and their families make in protecting our freedoms,” Terrill said.
There are still more than 72,000 U.S. service members who are unaccounted for from World War II.
Photo courtesy of the Sheppick family
A display featuring a photo of Donald Sheppick and some of his medals, including the Purple Heart
Donald Sheppick was part of a U.S. Army Air Forces operation that took off from a secret airstrip in Australia March 11, 1944, to bomb Japanese anti-aircraft batteries in the Hansa Bay area.
Witnesses in another plane watched the bomber named Heaven Can Wait come under attack and become engulfed in flames. Its tail fell off. The plane banked left and crashed into the ocean, coming to rest more than 200 feet underwater. There was no indication of survivors or bodies at the surface of the water at the time.
The crew had been in the Pacific Theater for only four months before the plane crash.
Project Recover set out in October to survey a large swath of the bay, which is believed to be the final resting place of four other U.S. aircraft and 13 other servicemen. The discovery was announced Tuesday in advance of Memorial Day.
Photo courtesy of the Sheppick family
Donald Sheppick, center, and two friends pose for a photo.
The plane in which navigator Donald Sheppick was aboard was found on the 11th day of the search.
Nikki Sheppick, who is chairman of Charleroi Area Historical Society, said Project Recover is seeking DNA samples to confirm relationships to those whose remains are found on the ocean floor, if they are brought back to the United States.
She said there is a memorial to Donald Sheppick and his crew in Papua New Guinea and a headstone in his honor over an empty grave in Howe Cemetery in Long Branch, Washington County.
He was 26 years old when he died and was known by his friends as Shep when he attended schools in Roscoe and California High School. Prior to enlisting in the Army, he worked in an office at Homestead Steel Works. His wife, Mary, received his Purple Heart. The couple had one child, Donald Jr., who died when he was a teenager.