The 21st Show

Best of: Thousands of Americans went missing in war. These men are bringing them home.

Produced by Reginald Hardwick
 
Sep 30, 2020 - A beach flag ceremony for a B-24 crew found in the Solomon Islands by Project Recover. When an MIA crash site is located, a flag ceremony is held for each crew member Missing In Action. The flags are then given to the Keeper Of The Flags until the MIA are repatriated and the flags are then presented to the family.

Sep 30, 2020 - A beach flag ceremony for a B-24 crew found in the Solomon Islands by Project Recover. When an MIA crash site is located, a flag ceremony is held for each crew member Missing In Action. The flags are then given to the Keeper Of The Flags until the MIA are repatriated and the flags are then presented to the family. Harry Parker/Project Recover

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According to the National League of POW/MIA Families organization, 1,576 Illinois military members remain missing and unaccounted for. Project Recover helps look for service members who remain missing from World War II as well as conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. Two of the organization's leaders joined the 21st show. 

Derek Abbey, the president and CEO of Project Recover, and Pat Scannon, the founder of the project, joined us to talk about the search for missing service members and the technology that helped them in their efforts.

The trailer for To What Remains—a documentary about Project Recover—can be watched below. 

Versions of this conversation aired on May 30, 2022 and May 29, 2023. 

GUESTS:

Derek Abbey

President & CEO, Project Recover

Pat Scannon

Founder, Project Recover

 
 
 
Project Recover is a collaborative effort to enlist 21st-century science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate Americans missing in action (MIAs) to bring recognition to the service member, and closure for their families. Since 1993, Project Recover (formerly The BentProp Project) has located 30+ downed World War II US aircraft associated with scores of MIA service members. - Photo courtesy Harry Parker / Project Recover