P-MAN VIII Final Report

RE-VISIT: Pope's Ridge Avenger with family on Peleliu (Unlisted), 24 February 06

JPAC conducted recovery operations on Pope's Ridge during 2005 with repatriation of remains back to the United States in May 2005. After the return of the recovered remains to the United States, JPAC requested our assistance in locating and notifying the families of these three airmen (as we have done with other crews). Using our network of genealogists and other volunteers, we located all three families and I personally notified them of JPAC's findings (after receiving permission from JPAC). As is BentProp Project's tradition, we also personally delivered American flags we flew over the crash site to a representative member of each family: the son of Arthur C. Miller in Poughkeepsie, NY; the sister of Wesley R. Stuart in Stockton, CA and the sister of Donald E. Baxter outside Eugene, OR.

During our visit to Oregon, Dan, Jennifer and I met the family of this Avenger's aviator. Later, ENS Baxter's nephew, Donald Haake (named after his uncle), niece (Jane Russell) and grandniece (Sara Russell) requested that we take them to Pope's Ridge to visit the crash site.

After briefing them on what to expect, these three family members flew to Palau and traveled to Peleliu to visit the site where they lost their family member. ENS Baxter's grand niece, 13 year-old Sara, is the first second generation family member to visit Palau with our team; we were thrilled.

After touring the complete debris field (as defined by us during P-MAN V and P-MAN VII), we all climbed the steep western face of Pope's Ridge. On a particularly beautiful day with a light cooling breeze, ENS Baxter's family observed quiet reflection next to the TBM's engine. The next morning, they took off from the Peleliu runway and Belau Air's pilot Matt Harris flew them over Pope's Ridge allowing Sara to drop an arrangement of flowers, collected by our Peleliu friend, Tangie Hesus.

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Page last modified 12 November 2006