World War 2 Mysteries That Were Finally SOLVED!

Top-10-Mysteries-of-World-War-2-That-Were-Finally-Solved

Welcome to WatchMojo, where today we're unlocking the greatest secrets of one of the most tumultuous periods in history.

#10: The Disappearance of Andrew Ladner

Private Ladner was a proud son of Mississippi who shipped off to the Pacific in 1942. During the Battle of Buna-Gona, Ladner was on a mission in the jungles of New Guinea. Sadly, Ladner was killed in action. Unfortunately, the American Graves Registration Service was unable to locate his remains when they combed the battlefield 8 years later. As it turns out, that’s because his remains were discovered in 1943. Listed as an unknown soldier, Ladner was buried in a nearby village. After POW/MIA organizations conducted a review of unidentified remains, his body was exhumed, and a 2016 DNA test confirmed his identity. After more than 70 years, they finally brought Private Ladner home.

#9: Missing German Vehicle

One of the very few positive consequences of climate change is that sometimes droughts uncover archaeological treasures. That’s exactly what happened in 2022 in Sermide, Italy. As the Germans retreated from the region in 1945, a British recon plane spotted a German half-track truck. Despite multiple attempts, allied forces on the ground couldn’t locate it. Decades later, as portions of the River Po began to dry out, the vehicle was discovered in the river bed. It appeared as if German troops pushed it into the river rather than letting it fall into Allied hands.

#8: The Discovery of LCT 326

In late January 1943, a flotilla of landing craft set sail from Scotland to Devon in southwest England. The winter weather was foul, the waters choppy. On the night of February first, landing craft LCT 326 was reported missing off the coast of the Isle of Man. In 2020, researchers discovered the wreck of LCT 326 off the coast of Bardsey Island. The island, a tiny strip of land off the coast of Wales, is 100 miles from the purported crash zone. The cause of the wreck is still unknown. Theories range from bad weather to a sea mine. In either case, the families of the boat’s 14 crewmen can now get a measure of peace knowing its final resting place.

#7: The USS Albacore

This Gato-class fleet submarine sank 13 Imperial vessels during her time in the Pacific theater in World War II, then vanished without a trace in 1944. The sinking of the aircraft carrier Taihō in particular made the Albacore a highly esteemed sub, adding to the Navy’s dismay at her disappearance. In early 2023, researchers from the University of Tokyo pointed the U.S. Navy to a wreck off the coast of Hokkaido. In February, an unmanned Navy vessel was able to confirm the remains of the Albacore. She likely hit a mine while on a routine mission to refuel, losing all 85 people onboard.

#6: The Disappearance of Wing Hom

An Army private from Boston who went MIA fighting the Germans in Italy, Hom and his squad were in a firefight south of Rome when he disappeared. He was never reported as a POW, and his body was never recovered. At the end of the war, the Army listed Hom as killed in action. After almost 80 years, a set of remains found 3 miles west of the battle were disinterred. The POW/MIA Accounting Agency performed a DNA analysis on the remains in 2021. After confirming his identity, Private Hom was brought home and buried in October 2023.

#5: The Missing Sailor from the USS Indianapolis

After its top secret mission delivering the components for a nuclear bomb, this Navy cruiser was sunk by the Japanese. Almost 900 men went into the sea, and famously, only 316 survived the dehydration, shark attacks, and exposure to the elements long enough to be rescued. Among those assumed to have perished was radio tech Clarence William Donnor, since he was listed as a crewman on the Indianapolis and wasn’t rescued. But in reality, Donnor was alive and served until he was discharged in 1946. A clerical error had listed him as a crewman when he had actually just hitched a ride once to his billet. It took 73 years for historians to finally, and conclusively, set the record straight.

#4: Finding “Heaven Can Wait”

The B-24 bomber was utilized by every branch of the U.S. military during World War II, and it played a central role in bombing campaigns in the Pacific theater. The family of Second Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr. mourned the disappearance of his B-24, nicknamed “Heaven Can Wait,” for 70 years. Then, in 2013, one of his relatives discovered a website with information about his plane. The family spent five years working with researchers, and Project Recover, along with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, went to work searching for the wreck. Utilizing new technologies and advanced unmanned submersibles, oceanographers found the wreckage of “Heaven Can Wait” in 2018.

#3: Family Letters Discovered in Toronto

Fans of “Antiques Roadshow” know that, every once in a while, old mysteries are solved in the nooks and crannies of old homes. Toronto contractor Dave Smart was working behind a furnace when he discovered a box full of World War II era love letters. They were correspondence between Amy Gorman Whitley and her husband Arthur. Smart spent several years as an online sleuth trying to hunt down their family. The story went viral on local news outlets, prompting a community effort to find the family. Thanks to their work and Ancestry.com, the letters finally made it home to their relative, Scott Gorman, in 2020.

#2: The Missing Crew of the “Lady Be Good”

This B-24 bomber fought in the Mediterranean, and in April 1943, the plane and her crew disappeared on their way to an airbase on the Libyan coast. In 1958, geologists with a British oil company discovered a wreck while flying over the Libyan desert. It was the “Lady Be Good,” though there was no sign of her crew. The U.S. military searched for their remains for months. They were finally discovered in 1960, many miles from the crash. It appears that, after overshooting their destination, the crew bailed when the plane ran out of fuel. Miles from the wreck, they attempted to traverse the desert. A handful made it almost 85 miles before eventually succumbing to thirst.

#1: Glenn Miller's Plane Crash

One of the most well known and beloved bands in America in the early 1940s, the Glenn Miller Orchestra had reached the pinnacle of fame. But its leader felt a sense of civic duty, so he joined the military to bolster the troops' morale with music. Ten days before Christmas in 1944, Miller was aboard a transport plane enroute to Paris when it disappeared over the English Channel. Historian Dennis Spragg spent five years combing through military records to find the truth about why the plane crashed. Eventually, a diary found on “Antiques Roadshow” provided the final clue. The engines of Miller’s small transport plane likely iced over while it was flying low after diverting 40 miles out of the way.

We think we cracked the Enigma code on these mysteries. But if there are other World War II sleuths out there with clues, let us know in the comments below.