No man left behind

FuzeVT and jonp send a link to the story on Fox News about Fallen American Veterans Foundation (FAVF) which is attempting to recover the last two missing Coast Guardsmen of the Second World War from their icy grave in Greenland – as much as 350 feet of icy;

Co-founded by Sapienza with survivors of three U.S. Navy airmen from 1946’s Operation High Jump, which sought to establish the U.S. Antarctic research base, FAVF’s first mission is focused on a U.S. Coast Guard J2F-4 Grumman Duck amphibious biplane, which went down amid rescue operations during a whiteout in remote terrain near Køge Bugt, Greenland on Nov. 29, 1942. The plane was carrying the Coast Guard’s pilot Lt. John Pritchard and Radioman 1st Class Benjamin Bottoms, as well as the U.S. Army Air Force’s Corporal Loren Howarth.

Lou Sapienza, Chairman of FAVF – who leads an expert alliance of scientists, engineers and explorers on both government and non-government missions to recover the remains of those who disappeared in the line of duty. (Lou Sapienza)

For the U.S. Coast Guard – which has been working with the FAVF team on the expedition since 2010 – it is a far away expedition that hits especially close to home.

“The Coast Guard has offered to provide aircraft and helicopter support for a properly funded and expertly planned search,” Sapienza said.

The target plane and it’s crew might be covered in up to 350 feet of ice and snow. The recovery mission claims that they should be able to determine the location of them in 5-7 days beginning in April.