The missing remains of Staff Sgt. Thomas L. Meek of Lisbon La. and Capt. Henry S. White of Kansas City, Mo. were found 70 years after their dive bomber crashed in the South Pacific.
In July 1943, White and Meek left the Turtle Bay Airfield on Espiritu Santo Island in New Hebrides (now called Vanuatu) and never returned. The plane crashed on a nearby coral reef but searches failed to yield results until 2010, when both the remains of White and Meek were discovered. Also found in the aircraft were U.S. and Australian coins, U.S. military captain’s bars, and a U.S. military I.D. tag bearing Meek’s name and service number.
