Synopsis
They bravely served their country during some of the most brutal battles of World War II so we could have the freedom we enjoy today. But, in an instant, they were lost to their families forever. For more than 60 years, the whereabouts of these fallen heroes remained a mystery...until now. More than 200 aircraft plunged onto and around the islands of Palau during WWII battle with nearly half of their crew still listed as Missing in Action (MIA) today. Last Flight Home follows Dr. Patrick Scannon and his team of volunteers as they search the waters and jungles of Palau attempting to locate information that can lead to the identification and recovery of remains of these American MIAs. Palau is a group of islands in the far western Pacific Ocean including the militarily strategic island of Peleliu, which was caught in three Pacific Theater battles including Operation Desecrate One, Operation Snapshot and the Battle of Peleliu (codenamed Operation Stalemate II). The battles of Palau, fought between the U.S. and Japan during the War in the Pacific, have been largely ignored by history, eclipsed by the more famous Iwo Jima, Kwajelein and Okinawa. Join Scannon and his team who have found numerous aircraft such as Corsairs, Avengers, Hellcats and B-24s during their expeditions, and who tirelessly search for answers as a way of thanking the MIAs and their families for the sacrifices made decades ago. Editor's Note: In January 2004, Dr. Patrick Scannon and his team of volunteers found an aircraft (B-24J 42-73453) that they had been in search of for 10 years. The aircraft had been shot down in September 1944 so it took almost 59.5 years to find the men aboard this aircraft. One of the men lost in that crash was the tail gunner, S/Sgt. Jimmie Doyle, whose story is featured in Last Flight Home. On March 2, 2009, his family wrote to the team to let them know that they had received official notification from Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) that the remains recovered were indeed those of their loved one. Additionally, four other men on the aircraft have been positively identified as a result of the team's work.