Lonely B-24 Wreck From a Forgotten Battle 

It should stay exactly where it is. It's a piece of history, absolutely authentic and fascinating.

Let her sleep. She looks comfortable.

In May 1987 I did a detachment to Adak with my F-14 squadron VF-51. I flew combat air patrol west of Kisha to deter Russian Bear bombers from flying into US airspace. On our returns to Adak we would fly fairly low and and took pictures of many of the crashed US and even some Japanese aircraft. It was like time was suspended, as everything was just abandoned in place. I even have picture of the B-24 in this video. An amazing campaign by very brave men that most Americans don’t even know occurred!

It has been laid to rest, it passed her test. It landed with all her passengers alive and intact. Thank God they made it back!❤🙏🇺🇸

I am lucky enough to have visited her . Some of the friendliest natives I have ever met. Love Atka

My late father in law, Ralph Maloof, was stationed at Shemya AAF during the war. He primarily flew P-38’s and he recounted so many stories before he passed September 2023, a month before his 99th birthday. The Aleutians have the most inhospitable flying weather north of the equator and as a fellow pilot I have nothing but respect and admiration for what the members of The Greatest Generation had to deal with while stationed there.

An eternal site to remind us of all the airmen lost to the battle fought there . Thank You and may God Bless you my Countrymen.

Another great video. I agree that it should be left as is. Not enough left to be worth recovering; it should be preserved as a historical site.

Yes, let her rest in peace right on her spot. Great footage

Putting this plane on a list of "valor in the pacific" makes me think of the old saw of "Lions led by donkeys."

Great video. Thanks for sharing. They should let that B-24D Liberator bomber sleep where its at. My father flew B-24D's as a co-pilot for the 512th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force when he was stationed at Benghasi, Libya in North Africa. He flew on the infamous low level raid against the Nazi Oil Refinery Plant in Ploesti, Romania on 1 August 1943 and survived. He suffered from PTSD after that raid and he never like to talk about it.

Thank you so very much, Leave it as is!

Been to Atka in the 90's, with the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the place is very remote, and the weather is unbelievable, "birthplace of the winds", wild seas, constantly overcast, and not to mention numerous active volcanoes. When I first arrived I thought I was on a foreign planet, just too different from anywhere I had ever been before. I am grateful for the experience; however, I understand just how far away the place is, not feasible for any retrieving operation. Go there in person, see for yourself.

Thank you very much for taking the time to make such an interesting and well delivered video. Yes, the Aleutian campaign is largely forgotten, and the area in general is completely unknown by most people. I feel the wreck should stay in situ, but on the other hand, this means that the wreck will be lost once the aluminium and fixings reach the stage where the winds just blow it apart.

On one hand removing her to a more appropriate venue to save her long term would mean more people would for a long time be able to see her and remember because where she rests is difficult for many to come and pay respects but on the other as one person has said she looks comfortable and I would imagine quite tired too a lovely story and video tank you so much for sharing such a wonderful story 🫡

Easily enough left of the plane to be restored. Many WWII aircraft have been restored with far less. And it is a crash site, not a grave site. Definitely worth recovering and preserving, although the remoteness would be financially challenging.

Thankyou much appreciated

My grandfather was stationed on Adak and was part of the crew that built the airfield. Was sent to Fort Hood (became a drill sergeant), he never said much (very terse), but did indicate it was quite the difference in temperature that was quite difficult to adapt to (after 4+ years of cold winters), but he had to so he did. :)

Leave her be. She deserves to rest there. She did her job, and brought them home.

My first Naval assignment in the USN Seabee's as a CE was at Adak Alaska. Assigned to Public works. Aug 87 - March 89

Great video! My uncle was a ball turret gunner on B-24’s in the ETO, so the Liberator has a special place for me. One one hand it would be great to recover the plane, but for all the logistics you mentioned it probably never will.

Of course it should be recovered and restored. Its a shame to be rotten away this way.

What interested me the most was a small, Japanese infantry howitzer, briefly shown in your introductory scenes. The aircraft' location is so remote, you wonder who the heck would be around to scavenge the wreck. But, there it is, picked clean, like Thanksgiving turkey carcass.

Brutal would be a accurate Description of the area. I flew over it coming home from Vietnam. It was 50 degrees at Anchorage airport and we were cold having come from 110 degree climate. the view was beautiful flying over the Alaskan Rockies. You are blessed to be exposed to the place.

Great work Karen. Thanks for passing along an interesting piece of WW2 history.

AWESOME info....ty

Great stuff, I look forward to more!

That was a very interesting story. Thank you for doing what you do.

Great video. Thank you for sharing.

They dug out that p38 from the depths of the ice.. it flies today.

It could be only restored to static display in my opinion, the cost and resources to make it flyable would be to much. Even restoring it would be a huge job since so much was taken from it. Trying to find all the missing parts which are sitting in someones basement or at a flea market would be impossible to find. Volunteers, people that know how to properly repair the airframe are all needed. But if it's left there, it'll still get vandaled and stripped since no one lives beside it. Just thinking of that former school bus that was left in Alaska as a shelter for hikers, it was stripped, vandaled to, meanwhile it was driven there. It was airlifted to an airbase and never seen again. People just don't appreciate something like this. I'd love to see this plane recovered and restored since it's not a grave site. Although I'm not the one paying either so I can't really speak for it.

Excellent video

There are quite a few B-24 crash sites in the UK. I've visited those at the Fairy Lochs, Shielding, Scotland and Mill Hill, Peak district, England. There are very poignant memorials to those brave American Airmen who died in both crashes but both planes are broken, smashed, into many fragmented pieces. Although the UK sites are 'remote', they receive regular visitors. However, they are nowhere near as remote as Atka Island that is exceedingly difficult to visit. Unlike the UK sites, nobody died in the Atka incident. I think recovering the aircraft and placing it in an Alaskan Museum (either restored or as found), in somewhere more accessible like Anchorage, would enable more people from around the World to learn about the defence of the Aleutian Islands which, as you acknowledge, is otherwise forgotten. This would encourage people to learn more about the service of Americans and Canadians stationed on the islands. I'd never have thought twice about the Aleutians in WWII until the YT algorithm recommended your website. Having a beautifully preserved plane mouldering away, largely forgotten and inaccessible, when it could be employed to increase awareness of the sacrifices of Americans in the Aleutians seems rather wasteful. There are many individual memorials in the UK (like that of Bletsoe, Mi Amigo, the Eighth Airforce Memorial Sites) to American Airmen who died during WWII on this island so it seems most fitting to do the same thing on American soil, if only to increase awareness and respect. ATB. Just my thoughts... you requested them.

Great vid. Tks..

Great video!

I have no doubt someone with the money would be willing to restore it.. that said in that environment, I don’t imagine there would be much left of the original structure that could even be reused. It’s in a remote place to get to. I’m sure more than a headache. Would it really matter if someone took it to restore? It would be amazing to see an old bird fly again. ❤💯

She should be pulled and restored. there is enough there to build and display. Don't let her rot away.

Subscribed! thanks for the upload, enjoyed it

Build pole-barns, or similar shelter/structures over the pieces to preserve for a few more generations to see real history. Thanks for showing this.

First, this is very awesome. You're doing this for your grandpas memory. So my 2 cents on the bomber is all i can afford. From one who has restored a few WWII vehicles in the memory of my grandpa from wwìi I would say bring her home. She does no good sitting there being forgotten when she does better being seen by tomorrows generations in person. Im going to use a recent example to make my case. Last week, I did a WWII display at my girls' school. Me and some friends drove a convoy of WWII trucks and halftacks to the school, even picked my my girls up in the truck (WC51) i was driving and took them to school, I then gave the whole school a bunch of rides in the truck. Following all that, we watched the B29 DOC fly in. My girls got to watch the B29 take-off, fly aroundand land. Now ask yourself, if those trucks were left to rot in a field or DOC even, was sitting on a target range before she was dragged off and restored, would the impact have been as great on all those kids if I just showed them a video? Or seeing the machines running in person?

If it is a tribute, it’s a very remote one that very few people will ever see. I think the old girl should be recovered.

Thanks!!

A lot of forgotten history that we all should be learning about which is important to not repeat it

Great story, thanks! I wanted to visit the two islands my dad worked on as a Seabee in the Pacific. Woodlark, Banika, and also Milne Bay, New Guinea. But that's a young persons expedition! Again, great story, thank you. We must Never Forget.

If somebody has the means to recover and restore it, that would be a bigger monument to the men who flew it than letting it corrode away to nothing.

Good job, earned my sub.

According to the Pacific theater of operations daily reports of January of 1942, 75 aircraft were lost, but none due to enemy-Alaska. A good book is …’The thousand mile war’.

👍👍 @Florida... Very interesting video! My dad was stationed at Adak in 1949-1950. Formerly a young WWII B-25 pilot who served in N. Africa in 1943, he flew search and rescue missions in the Aleutians. He told me it was the most treacherous unpredictable weather conditions he'd ever flown in. That says a lot considering his AAC/USAF career spanned 21 years. After he got settled in at Adak for a few months, my mother and older brother were able to join him there. In fact, my sister was born in Adak January 1950. In later years both siblings went back to visit Adak, although at different times. It's sad that the US military eventually abandoned Adak (in the 1990s?), and I guess other military facilities in the Aleutians as well. Yep, a lot of history there. Regards from Thailand!

She should 100% be recovered, her crew went on to fly another day while the B24 laid abandoned, dumped. Most people to see her were from behind a photo. In a caring museum displayed exactly how she is there.

As a Sea Cadet I’ve been out to Kiska in 83 for a few days. We placed a 40 year anniversary monument. Also visited Adak, Dutch harbor Kodiak and anchorage. Fantastic summer

Subscribed instantly ! :-)

Restore all of them !!

It's doing ok where it is.

I ve seen this a few times from the air. I think the corrosion is too much to restore aside from the logistic problems of recovery. Given enough time and money anything is possible. Thanks for sharing.

Very Interesting. My father worked on the Alaska Highway through Canada and at Ladd Field in Fairbanks and my grandfather helped build the Bluie West bases in Greenland.

Might have been worth recovering before it was stripped It is best left as a historical tribute since it's now only worth its scrap value since with such corrosive weather the only things left the engines are probably not even rebuildable

As much as I would like to see the Atka B-24 being restored I hate to see a replay of the B-29 “Kee Bird” in Greenland.

Due to the remote area, recover and either display as is in a sheltered location for all groups to share the sacrifices made by these airmen. Or restore it but not allow a private group to assume ownership then control of a monument is lost. Thank you for your reporting.

It should be recovered and restored. It is not a war grave. Much better than the condition of the FW200 that came out of a fjord and was completely rebuilt

My Dad was in the Army and was sent there. He was in Company K. I heard him talking about Atna and an Island called Sitka

I think as no one died it should be recovered and restored as the story still remains, plus not many of these aircraft exist now

Must be recovered at once.

There was a B24 recovered by the military a few years ago in the area of Alaska.

Save it!

It's in a remote location & would cost too much then remove.

Realy? Wow!!!

Wow

Thank you for the interesting story. By any chance has Ted Spencer visited, or perhaps knows the approximate location of the crash site, near Cape Kovrishka, Unalaska, of the PBY under the command of Ensign Fergus Kelly. If so, some family members of Commander Malcolm Hanson, who was among the eight that died in that crash, would like to know. His family are convinced that his mission on that PBY was top secret, and the plane may have been equipped with advanced radar equipment. Sadly the radar had been knocked by enemy fire while attacking Japanese ships during the battle of Attu on August 8, 1942. Like the bad weather you mentioned in your video, they became lost in the heavy fog on their way home to Dutch Harbor and crashed. The sole survivor, Harley Miller, the radio operator, never received a Purple Heart for his serious injuries sustained in that crash, and his lost crewmen never recieved acknowledgement as combat casualties. Even after having crashed and burned, and years of exposure, might one still be able to identify flak damage on the remains of that PBY, to support the families claims?

I know a P-38 from the same era and same area was recovered and "restored" as a display aircraft and on display at JBER in Anchorage. That P-38 was shot down by a Japanese fighter.

My grandfather was there too never really talked about it other than it was colder than the Philippines

As of 2009 when airworthy warbirds a B17 & B24 had landed at my local FBO, Both aircrewshad stated that nobody makes our parts anymore. Instead, parts are swapped out with certifidd refurbished parts. Which is why the ride alongs cost so much. Since then the U.S. Navy, in response to decaying warbird airframes, Litorally falling out of the skies, declared all previous U.S. Navy property " OFF LIMITS INDEFINITELY " . This does not however effect pre-2009 warbirds already owned & operated by private owners, etc, etc. There were no deaths at this B-24's ĺast resting spot & it was not shot down. There are indeed useable parts still on this wreck. Parts that can even be used as templates for existing warbirds today. Unless the aluminum is radioacive from A-boms dropped on Japan in 1945, why be a war monument? Afterall Aluminum in this state is poisoning the environment. Aluminum poisoning attacks human, animal, mammal, & sealife causing us to slowly lose our memory, thus damage the mind. I say ship it back to the states' mainland, if the U.S. Government will allow it to be used for templates, reserviceable parts, & scrap by U.S. warbird owners only.

A bit of both , let some live , some die . It's all a part of history.

Recover and restore it.

I saw a video years ago where this B-24 was recovered and restored to static at Elmendorf AFB. Correct me if I'm wrong!!

I think it should be recovered and maybe restored, before there is nothing left of it!

My father served with the navy on Adak and Attu during WWII. He spoke about the weather often.

I think there should be a plack there in memory of the soldiers in that plane and that plane ✈️ should be restored in memory and detection to the soldiers..... All abandoned military 🪖🎖️ equipment planes etcetera won't last forever.. nature will take over and it will be gone forever

Since no one died during this accident it should be recovered and restored so it can be even more of a tribute to those who served & flew in WWII. I mean compare who's going to see it in the Aleutian Islands vs. The number of people that might see it If it were flying again.

They should build a structure around it. It will eventually be reclaimed by the earth if it’s left exposed like it is

Anyone who wants to learn more about WW2 in this region there is a book called "the 1000 mile war" very in depth.

Yeah my great uncle went down on the uss grunion near kiska and atu.

I have mixed feeling on recovering her, there aren't many of them left in any condition. As a retired aircraft mech I can tell you in her current condition that would be very very costly to restore as well as costly to recover. Considering that leave it as a monument on how useless for the most part management is.

I say leave it there. I would like to see the "Lady be Good" hulk recovered from Libya. Most of it was moved from the desert to Tunisia I think.

Great video, but let her lay there and rest

Hi there, I was associated with a museum that has actually tried to recover this B-24, about 8-10 years ago. The logistics of doing so are not actually that bad. There is a guy (I think out of anchorage) who has an old modified LST type ship with a huge central ramp and shallow draft. He was able to drive right up to beach, and had large steel cables and winches long to reach the bomber and simply pull it onto the ship. He has a track record of doing this exact maneuver for other historical wrecks like this. Our struggle was the government, we needed permission from 3 different parts of government to go and retrieve the plane for our museum, and had everything lined up and the ship on standby. Our only holdout of the 3 was the state of Alaska itself, they would not allow us to move the bomber as it would damage the environment (I mean come on, there's nothing there but moss, it will grow back in a couple years). Ultimately, that is the ONLY reason this bomber was not retrieved and restored, the government said no. The cost of retrieving ain't cheap, but it isn't astronomical, nor would it be logistically too difficult. It's a shame, it deserves to be better preserved, and it can be if the government would simply allow it.

By the time these wrecks are restored they are like the “Ship of Theseus”. The original spirit and history disappears. What you end up with is a brand new aircraft. Very nice, but disconnected.

RU-vid is awash in amateur documentaries, many of which are just plain awful in their cartoonish graphics and over-the-top dramatic narration. You hit all the marks for a professional job; great video with no shakiness, narration spoken slowly and articulately with plenty of space between sentences. I particularly liked your video for a personal reason; my late brother Leonard lived in Anchorage and worked for E&E; Ecology and Environment. He traveled all over Alaska, including the Aleutians, inspecting oil storage tanks, gas tanks, etc. and monitoring for leakage, etc. He passed unexpectedly in 2011 at age 50 and I know he would love your video! Could the B-24 be recovered by a millionaire and brought back to dry land to be restored? Sure, but why do it? There are enough B-24s both static and flying and besides, it makes more sense to locate another navy plane in the Great Lakes and restore it as the frigid, clear water preserves them almost perfectly from the moment they crashed.

Restore and recover

No leave it to rest😊

How can you get onto the island? Are there publicly available tours or something?

Believe it or not, that airplane could be restored. There are companies and museums out there that have restored WW2 aircraft that were in worse shape than that. It would take a lot of money to restore it though.

Desert camo pink elephants?

nice video -- tick when in a plane rank matters less than captains sixth sense same on ships ..... /// sad // nice vids as the area is not often covered - brit

Recover it. Theres enough left for a restoration.

To answer your question. The answer is simply… Restore it, she’s been grounded far too long.

Would the Lady Be Good be easier to get?

I was on Akutan for 2 years, the local natives "Around 85" living on the island knew the history of recovering America's first Japanese Zero that was crippled during an attack on Dutch Harbor! The biggest thing to ever happen on that island and NONE of them could tell me wherethe site was of where the Zero was recovered and taking to evaluate back in the lower 48. I had to do all my own research, located the site and flew ovr to it on my way to Dutch HArbor one day. Of course there is nothing there, a Japanese delegation showed up back in the 80's I believe and recovered the Zero's pilot's body that died in the forced landing when the Zero flipped over and broke his neck. The US Forces that recovered the Zero buried the pilot there next to where the plane landed!

should be restored

I think a recovery would be a good thing, but the site should perhaps be granted a monument or statue of some sort to note what happened there. As for "restoration", I don't know how that's possible in the fullest sense, seeing as the plane is in several pieces and missing just about everything that would make it useful; it'd be more like building a new plane atop it, which would be exceedingly costly for not much gain. I think the remaining pieces ought to be cleaned up and taken to a museum of some sort to display. Letting her sit there is just going to let it rust away and fall to pieces, carried by nature and the wind all over the area. Frankly it's a pollutant/contamination issue for the local area, which I think is not right.

Leave it where she lays...