Remembrance and recovery

On the morning of Sept. 10, 1944, as World War II entered its sixth year, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Jay R. Manown, Jr. piloted his TBM-1c Avenger away from the USS Enterprise, carrying himself and two crew members on a mission to conduct airstrikes on enemy targets in Palau. They never returned to the aircraft carrier. Struck by enemy fire, Manown's plane was last seen spiraling into Malakal Harbor in the western Pacific Ocean.

Now, after decades of exhaustive searches, Manown's remains have been located, identified and returned to his family, thanks in part to technology from the University of Delaware and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the tireless work of Project Recover.

Searching for Manown

Manown, who was from Kingwood, West Virginia, was only 26 years old when his plane was shot down. One of nearly 80,000 American soldiers listed as missing in action (MIA) following WWII, his legacy lives on in his family, who remember hearing bits and pieces of his story even though they were born after his disappearance.

"A lot of people felt the loss of him so greatly. He was so young and didn't really get to live his life," said Joann Gabel, Manown's second cousin. "He is remembered as somebody that had a lot of courage and a lot of potential."