如何找回一架失蹤74年的飛機(jī)？

After the B-24 bomber carrying Second Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr. was shot down off the coast of what is now Papua New Guinea in 1944, his parents had a gray tombstone etched with a drawing of the plane and the words “In Loving Memory.”

1944年小托馬斯·V·凱利少尉(Second Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr.)的B-24轟炸機(jī)在現(xiàn)屬巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞的海岸被擊落后，他的父母立起了一塊灰色墓碑，上面刻著這架飛機(jī)的圖案和“追憶緬懷”幾個(gè)字。

The 21-year-old bombardier’s remains were never recovered, and for years, his relatives rarely discussed the pain they felt over his death.

這名21歲投彈手的遺體始終沒(méi)有找到。多年來(lái)，他的親屬也很少討論他的死亡給他們帶來(lái)的痛苦。

“There were Christmas songs that would come on that my mom couldn’t even listen to,” said Diane Christie, Lieutenant Kelly’s niece.

“有時(shí)候聽(tīng)到某些圣誕歌曲，我媽媽都會(huì)受不了，”凱利少尉的外甥女戴安·克里斯蒂(Diane Christie)說(shuō)。

But in 2013, one of Ms. Christie’s second cousins found a website with information about the bomber he had been on. That led to years of archival research, culminating in a recent search of the ocean floor by a team of oceanographers and archaeologists.

但是在2013年，克里斯蒂的一個(gè)表親發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)網(wǎng)站，上面是有關(guān)凱利曾登上的這架轟炸機(jī)的信息。在這之后便是多年的檔案研究，最近才以海洋學(xué)家和考古學(xué)家組成的團(tuán)隊(duì)展開(kāi)的海底搜尋告終。

A few weeks ago, Ms. Christie’s phone rang as she was shopping for groceries in Folsom, Calif. Her sister was calling to say that Lieutenant Kelly’s plane — nicknamed Heaven Can Wait — had been found.

幾周前，克里斯蒂正在加利福尼亞福爾瑟姆買菜，電話響了。她的姊妹打來(lái)電話告訴她，凱利少尉的飛機(jī)——綽號(hào)是“天堂不急”——找到了。

“I literally walked outside Whole Foods, and I burst into tears,” Ms. Christie said. “And I’m like, where did this come from? I didn’t even know my uncle.”

“我徑直走到了全食超市外，哭了出來(lái)，”克里斯蒂說(shuō)。“我就想，這是怎么回事?我甚至都不認(rèn)識(shí)我的舅舅。”

Heaven Can Wait is one of 30 United States aircraft retrieved by Project Recover, a six-year-old nonprofit that collaborates with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or D.P.A.A., the arm of the Pentagon tasked with finding and returning fallen military personnel.

“天堂不急”是30架由尋回計(jì)劃(Project Recover)找回的美國(guó)飛機(jī)之一，這個(gè)成立六年的非營(yíng)利組織正在與負(fù)責(zé)尋找并送回陣亡軍人的國(guó)防部戰(zhàn)俘及失蹤軍人統(tǒng)計(jì)署(Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency，簡(jiǎn)稱D.P.A.A.)合作。

The group says its recoveries show how new sonar and robotics technologies make it far easier to find planes that crashed at sea, and that were once thought lost for good.

該組織表示，這些尋回證明，憑借新的聲吶和機(jī)器人技術(shù)，找回在海上墜毀并一度被認(rèn)為永遠(yuǎn)失蹤的飛機(jī)要比以前容易很多。

“It really opens up the possibility that more families can learn what happened to their family members who have been missing all this time,” said Patrick Scannon, the president of the BentProp Project, a California-based nonprofit that cooperated on the effort to find the B-24.

“這真的讓更多家庭有了機(jī)會(huì)，可以去了解這些年來(lái)他們失蹤家人的經(jīng)歷，”BentProp項(xiàng)目的主席帕特里克·斯坎農(nóng)(Patrick Scannon)說(shuō)道，這個(gè)位于加州的組織曾參與尋找這架B-24轟炸機(jī)的行動(dòng)。

Since 1973, the Pentagon has recovered the remains of 2,381 United States service members and civilians, according to the military’s data. Of the more than 72,000 American service members from World War II who are still unaccounted for, approximately 26,000 are considered possibly recoverable.

根據(jù)軍方數(shù)據(jù)，自1973年以來(lái)，國(guó)防部已經(jīng)尋回了2381具美國(guó)服役人員和平民的遺體。在依然下落不明的逾7.2萬(wàn)名美國(guó)二戰(zhàn)服役人員中，大約有2.6萬(wàn)人被認(rèn)為是有可能尋回的。

The Pentagon says the number of missing United States service members identified worldwide has been rising in recent years, thanks largely to advancements in forensic science.

國(guó)防部表示，在全球范圍內(nèi)，已確定的美國(guó)失蹤軍人數(shù)量近幾年來(lái)一直在增長(zhǎng)，這主要?dú)w功于法醫(yī)科學(xué)的進(jìn)步。

But as time passes, identifying remains grows harder, and it becomes more difficult to find surviving family members who can provide DNA samples, said Sgt. First Class Kristen Duus, a spokeswoman for D.P.A.A. in Washington.

但華盛頓DPAA發(fā)言人、三級(jí)軍士長(zhǎng)克里斯汀·杜斯(Sgt. First Class Kristen Duus)表示，隨著時(shí)間的流逝，辨認(rèn)身份還是會(huì)越來(lái)越困難，要找到可以提供DNA樣本的在世家庭成員也更加困難。

“Time’s not necessarily on our side,” she said.

“時(shí)間不見(jiàn)得對(duì)我們有利，”她說(shuō)。

Before searching for missing aircraft, the Project Recover team tries to pinpoint the crash locations by interviewing veterans and analyzing historical records and modern satellite imagery. Then it searches with tools that can include thermal cameras and a sonar-equipped robot that looks like a torpedo and swims just above the seafloor.

在對(duì)失蹤飛機(jī)進(jìn)行搜尋之前，尋回計(jì)劃團(tuán)隊(duì)會(huì)通過(guò)采訪退伍軍人、分析歷史記錄和現(xiàn)代衛(wèi)星圖像來(lái)精準(zhǔn)定位墜機(jī)地點(diǎn)。然后，他們會(huì)使用配備了紅外攝像頭和聲吶機(jī)器人的工具進(jìn)行搜尋，這些工具看起來(lái)像個(gè)魚(yú)雷，緊貼海底潛行。

The recovery and identification of remains from these underwater sites are conducted at the Pentagon’s discretion. Of the 30 aircraft that Project Recover has found so far, 27 are associated with 113 missing service members, and the remains of five airmen have been repatriated.

這些水下地點(diǎn)的遺體尋回和辨認(rèn)行動(dòng)由五角大樓全權(quán)決定。在尋回計(jì)劃目前所發(fā)現(xiàn)的30架飛機(jī)中，27架與113名失蹤的服役人員有關(guān)，5名男飛行員的遺體已被送回國(guó)。

The Heaven Can Wait bomber was found last year in Hansa Bay, on Papua New Guinea’s northern coast, where five United States aircraft are believed to have gone down during World War II.

“天堂不急”轟炸機(jī)去年在巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞北部的海岸漢薩灣被發(fā)現(xiàn)。據(jù)信，二戰(zhàn)期間有五架美國(guó)飛機(jī)在此墜毀。

Lieutenant Kelly’s bombing mission on March 11, 1944, was part of an American effort to disrupt Japanese shipping and supply chains ahead of attacks that spring on a Japanese airfield nearby and another 360 miles northwest, said Michael J. Claringbould, a historian in Australia who specializes in World War II-era aviation in the Pacific. Many Japanese military personnel would eventually flee into nearby jungles and die of starvation.

據(jù)澳大利亞專攻二戰(zhàn)時(shí)期太平洋航空研究的歷史學(xué)家邁克爾·J·克萊林波(Michael J. Claringbould)稱，凱利少尉在1944年3月11日?qǐng)?zhí)行的轟炸任務(wù)，是在美軍對(duì)附近的一個(gè)日本機(jī)場(chǎng)和西北部360英里的另一個(gè)機(jī)場(chǎng)發(fā)動(dòng)攻擊前，干擾日本的貨運(yùn)和供應(yīng)鏈。許多日本軍人最終會(huì)逃到附近的叢林中，直至餓死。

Much of the research that helped the Project Recover team pinpoint the bomber’s location in Hansa Bay was conducted over several years by a team of family members led by Ms. Christie’s second cousin Scott L. Althaus.

幫助尋回計(jì)劃團(tuán)隊(duì)將轟炸機(jī)定位在漢薩灣的大部分研究，都是由克里斯蒂的表親司各特·L·奧爾索斯(Scott L. Althaus)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的家屬團(tuán)隊(duì)在這些年中進(jìn)行的。

Mr. Althaus, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said his project began on Memorial Day five years ago with an online search for information about Lieutenant Kelly. “It snowballed from there,” he said.

奧爾索斯是伊利諾伊州立大學(xué)香檳分校(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)的政治學(xué)教授，他表示，這個(gè)項(xiàng)目始于五年前的那個(gè)陣亡烈士紀(jì)念日，他在網(wǎng)上對(duì)凱利少尉的信息進(jìn)行了一次搜索。“此后的信息便滾滾而來(lái)，”他說(shuō)。

He later sent Ms. Christie and three other family members to the World War II archives at the University of Memphis, where they photographed more than 800 documents associated with the plane and its crew from the U.S. Army Air Force. (The U.S. Air Force was not established until 1947.)

后來(lái)，他派克里斯蒂和其他三名家庭成員去往孟菲斯大學(xué)(University of Memphis)查看二戰(zhàn)檔案，在那里，他們拍攝了超過(guò)800份與這架飛機(jī)及其機(jī)組人員有關(guān)的美國(guó)陸軍航空隊(duì)(U.S. Army Air Force)文件。(美國(guó)陸軍航空隊(duì)直到1947年才成立。)

He also spoke by phone with a scuba diver in Belgium who had once lived near Hansa Bay and offered guesses about where the bomber might have crashed.

他還與一名住在比利時(shí)的潛水員通了電話，此人曾在漢薩灣附近居住，他對(duì)轟炸機(jī)可能的墜毀地點(diǎn)作了猜測(cè)。

Mr. Althaus said the point was never to find the plane, but simply to honor Lieutenant Kelly and the other 10 men who had been in it. “Each has a family and a future that they didn’t get to inhabit,” he said.

奧爾索斯表示，重點(diǎn)永遠(yuǎn)不是找到飛機(jī)，而是為了紀(jì)念凱利少尉以及機(jī)上的其他十個(gè)人。“他們每個(gè)人都有自己的家庭和未來(lái)，卻再也沒(méi)能參與其中，”他說(shuō)。

The bomber was found in Hansa Bay last October, the year after Mr. Althaus’s aunt contacted Project Recover.

去年10月，在奧爾索斯的姑姑聯(lián)系尋回計(jì)劃一年后，轟炸機(jī)在漢薩灣被發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Using Mr. Althaus’s research as a guide, the team’s scientists found the plane’s debris field after 11 days searching about 10 square miles of the bay’s seafloor with scanning sonars and underwater robots. Project Recover would not comment on the cost of the mission, although Dr. Scannon said that large ones typically cost $200,000 to $400,000.

該小組的科學(xué)家根據(jù)奧爾索斯的研究結(jié)果，用掃描聲吶定位儀和水下機(jī)器人搜索了漢薩灣海底的約十平方英里，11天后，他們找到了這架飛機(jī)的殘骸所在地。尋回計(jì)劃不會(huì)透露這次任務(wù)的費(fèi)用，不過(guò)斯坎農(nóng)表示，大型項(xiàng)目通常需要花費(fèi)20萬(wàn)到40萬(wàn)美元。

The Pentagon has not yet decided whether it will try to recover and identify the 11 crew members of Heaven Can Wait, Lt. Col. Kenneth L. Hoffman, a D.P.A.A. spokesman in Hawaii, said in an email. He added that selecting a site for excavation could take months or even years.

DPAA夏威夷分部的發(fā)言人肯尼思·L·霍夫曼中校(Kenneth L. Hoffman)在接受電子郵件采訪時(shí)表示，五角大樓尚未決定是否嘗試找回“天堂不急”的11名機(jī)組人員的遺骸，并確認(rèn)他們的身份。他還表示，單是選擇一個(gè)合適的發(fā)掘地點(diǎn)可能就需要幾個(gè)月甚至幾年的時(shí)間。

Ms. Christie, 61, said by telephone that receiving Lieutenant Kelly’s remains would provide even more closure for her family. She has now read all of the letters he wrote home during the war, she said, and his grave in Livermore, Calif., has recently taken on new significance for her.

61歲的克里斯蒂在接受電話采訪時(shí)表示，收到凱利少尉的遺骸會(huì)讓她的家人更好地了結(jié)這樁心事。她表示，現(xiàn)在她讀完了凱利在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)期間寫(xiě)給家人的所有信件，他在加州利弗莫爾的墓地最近對(duì)她有了新的意義。

To honor Lieutenant Kelly and the other crew members, a B-24 bomber flew over the cemetery three times on Sunday. A 21-gun salute and flag-presentation ceremony were also held.

為了紀(jì)念凱利少尉和其他機(jī)組成員，一架B-24轟炸機(jī)周日在墓地上方飛過(guò)了三次。還舉行了21響禮炮和國(guó)旗展示儀式。

“It was wonderful,” Ms. Christie said.

“太棒了，”克里斯蒂說(shuō)。

In his correspondence, the young bombardier’s tone is often optimistic, even as he acknowledges the hardships and dangers of his assignment. In one letter, he digresses to say he took a break from writing to eat a quart of ice cream.

這位年輕的少尉在信中的語(yǔ)氣通常是樂(lè)觀的，盡管承認(rèn)他的任務(wù)存在困難和危險(xiǎn)。在一封信中，他說(shuō)了點(diǎn)題外話，說(shuō)他寫(xiě)信間歇吃了一夸脫冰淇淋。

Ms. Christie said she was struck by how very young her uncle had been, and by his constant concern for how his family was dealing with his absence.

克里斯蒂表示，令她震驚的是，自己的舅舅當(dāng)時(shí)那么年輕，而且一直關(guān)心家人如何應(yīng)對(duì)他不在身邊的狀況。

“If we are lucky we might get home by next Christmas, but it’s hard to say for sure,” Lieutenant Kelly wrote on Feb. 1, 1944, shortly after his 21st birthday.

“如果幸運(yùn)的話，我們可能會(huì)在明年圣誕節(jié)前回家，但這很難確定，”凱利少尉在1944年2月1日21歲生日后不久寫(xiě)道。

“How are Mom and Dad?” he wrote on Feb. 29, less than two weeks before he died aboard Heaven Can Wait. “Are they doing a lot of needless worrying?”

“爸爸媽媽好嗎?”他在2月29日寫(xiě)道。不到兩周后，他就登上“天堂不急”遇難了。“他們是不是又有很多不必要的擔(dān)憂?”