Scottsdale
Arizona native Ken Moore has spent nearly every waking moment of the past 30
years preoccupied with the issue of World War Two MIA’s. One MIA in particular
started it all: Ken’s Uncle Billy – his mother’s youngest brother – who
“vanished without a trace” while piloting a B-29 out of the Marianas Islands in
1945. Ken spent half a lifetime piecing together evidence which led him to the
discovery of his uncle’s submerged bomber in the far western Pacific.
Moore has
continued to travel the world in search of MIA’s, even after his personal search
was complete.
"There's just so
much to do," Moore said of ordering enough supplies for a four-week trip and
waking up at 4 a.m. to make calls to the volunteers receiving shipments on the
island of Saipan.
Moore, 57, said
the pain his mother suffered after the disappearance of his uncle, Lt. William
Weber, inspired him to find the truth. The search for his uncle led to nearly
300 other potential crash sites, and networked Moore with hundreds of other MIA
families. Moore said he plans to work well into his 70s to find the sites and
bring closure to those families who lost loved ones.
"At first you’d think that time and the odds were against us.” Moore said. "But
our research capabilities have grown and grown, and our network of friends and
team members is expanding. And there are so many MIA’s out there: nearly 40,000
American bodies and many many more from Japan and other countries.”
|
Search
Worth Any Price
Moore
has invested a personal fortune traveling the world, digging through
records and battlefield sites. "Frankly, I think it's very unfair
that any American has to go through what I did to bring closure to
his family 60 years later," he said.
Moore's search for Weber reached a milestone in 1999 when he found
his B-29, “The Life of Riley,” submerged under 70 feet of water,
about 300 yards off of Alamagan Island in the Mariana Islands. There
were no bodies on board, and the search for survivors went cold.
Moore has since seen
evidence that his uncle’s crew was picked up and held
by their Soviet “allies,” who prized the group for its knowledge of
the state-or-the-art B-29 and its weapons delivery capability. |
Moore with his wife and two children
at home in Scottsdale, AZ |
But whatever
Billy’s fate, Moore was driven by watching the grief his mother suffered from
her baby brother’s disappearance. "To see her fall apart that way was very,
very hard and left an indelible impression," Moore said. "She just had a
spiritual connection to her youngest brother that was extraordinarily profound."
Worldwide Connection
Now, Moore
and volunteers from around
the world, many of whom are former
Special Forces operatives,
are working
to honor
other soldiers, sailors, and pilots by identifying their death sites and
reporting them to the authorities responsible for recovering the remains.
Thomas Arkle Jr., a member Moore’s group, said Moore inspires people to pour
themselves into each mission.
"He's so passionate about it you just have to
put forth all you've got,"
said Arkle, whose father served during the war in Europe under Gen.
George S. Patton Jr.
The Marauders ranges in age from 32 to 60, with wide-ranging specialties -
from doctors and nurses to divers,
speliunkers, and explosive removal experts
- that aid in identification efforts.
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, part of the U.S.
Department of Defense, estimates there are 78,000 World War II personnel
still unaccounted for. Of that, as many as 35,000 may be recoverable.
"If Ken hadn't done the work, it probably wouldn't get done," said Zack
Bechtol, who is thankful to Moore for finding the crash site and resting
place of his Great Uncle Roy Bechtol in December, 2005. “It is a special
feeling,” Bechtol said.
 About Moore's Marauders...
Moore's Marauders is a non-profit organization that receives no government funding.
We rely solely on your contributions to help us locate the 35,000
WWII MIAs the U.S. government maintains are still recoverable.
For as
little as 30 cents a day, you can help us bring home the thousands who made the
ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in freedom.
Donate today.
|
