(lively upbeat music) (gentle inspiring music) - Since entering World War II on December 7th, 1941 more than half a million American service members have laid down their lives in defense of their country.

Nearly 3000 from Maine, dozens from the small paper mill town of Millinocket.

The remains of more than 80,000 of these fallen heroes never made it home, leaving a gaping hole in the hearts of their families and communities.

(airplane engine roars) On October 4th, 2021, one family finally received closure after 77 long years of uncertainty.

At 0600 hours, under the early morning fluorescent lights of Logan airport in Boston, Massachusetts, the Fort Drum honor guard dutifully performs the honorable transfer ceremony, as one of the nation's missing in action returns to us soil for the first time since 1941.

(gentle orchestra music) - It defines us as a nation that here we are decades later still searching, still finding, still bringing home missing Americans from past wars who made the Supreme sacrifice.

- Escorted up interstate 95 by state police from across New England.

This son of Millinocket, Maine, finally arrives home, followed by American Legion Riders from all over the country, descending on this small Northern Maine mill town to pay their respects.

(motor cycle engine roaring) - Ready, step.

- [Rick] It's people like him, that's why we are here.

And we do what we do, because he sacrificed his life for us.

- It's been a long time coming, so we're very happy today.

Very happy and sad at the same time - The heroic actions of the greatest generation, we can't forget that.

- [Policeman] Step.

- It just builds faith in that we lead no soldier behind, that we will continue to look, we'll continue to search and bring him home to their final resting spot.

- I was honored to be able to do this.

We were all honored, you know, as an organization.

So, you know, today was, it was a little chilly but you know, if a man can be in the ocean for 77 years I can deal with a little bit of cold, you know, so we all good.

(gentle upbeat music) - In the shadow of mount Katahdin the town of Millinocket Maine, was carved out of the north woods and transformed into a booming mill town at the turn of the 20th century.

- When the group of men came here to build the paper mill in the late 1890s, there was no town.

There was no East Millinocket.

And thing that this area had gone for, was, it had lots of water, lots of trees, and the railroad happened to pass by, and that was the key.

And within two years, they'd brought in enough men and materials to make the first roll of paper.

- [Narrator] Great Northern Paper Company built the largest paper mill in the country here, providing people with jobs, prosperity, and most importantly, a sense of community.

- The town was thriving back then, you had the mill and most of the community worked for the mill.

There was such a family connection.

- They were hard working people and the businesses supported the town were lots of activities, parades, and if there was an excuse to have a celebration they headed and all kinds of people were involved.

- [Narrator] Millinocket grew so rapidly, it was dubbed the magic city.

Not one mill worker lost their job during the depression as Great Northern Paper, produced newsprint for some of the biggest newspapers in the country, including the New York Times.

When and war broke out in Europe and the Far East, more than 600 men from this blue collar town answered the call.

A young pilot named Ernest Vienneau, was one of those brave Americans.

- So this is a family photo in front of 23 Somerset avenue in Millinocket of the family of Ernest Vienneau.

(gentle instrumental music) And here's another similar photo - [Narrator] With 14 children, the Vienneaus world, large family in a small town.

Generations later, they have scattered across the country, but family members like Chelsea Carbonell never forgot her great uncle Ernest.

- All of our parents and grandparents made a huge impact on us and they loved Ernest very much.

So when you love someone you love who they loved.

- Vienneau learned to fly as a young man, honing his skills as an aviator in the skies over Millinocket, before leaving to serve in the Army Air Corps.

Ernest and four of his brothers served in the armed forces, leaving their hometown as young men to fight for their country in its greatest time of need.

A commitment to duty, that this family holds close to their hearts.

- When it's a small town and the boys go off to war it's not just, you know, it's not just those parents sending their boys off to war, you know, it affects the whole town.

You know, these are the boys that grew up here, you know, go to school here, everyone knows them.

What they did was, I mean, so important for the world, you know, and they didn't shy away from it, they volunteered - [Narrator] Ernest left for the war by making one more flight over his beloved hometown, paying tribute to his family roots here on his final pass over the family cabin on Twin Lakes.

- My grandma Vienneau asked, she said, "When you, you know, fly over the camp," because that's where the family always was.

And she asked him to tilt his wings as he flew over so we know that's you.

And he did, and that was the final time that my grandmother ever saw her son.

(gun bangs) - [Narrator] When the us entered World War II in 1941 the stakes were already high.

The NAZI's powers controlled much of Western European and were winning battles on land, at sea, and in the air.

To slow down the progress of the enemy allied forces used a strategic bombing campaign targeting German industrial facilities, oil refineries, and railroad infrastructure.

The cost of these bombing missions was enormous.

Extreme conditions, high casualty rates, and loss of aircraft, made for a furious combat experience in the skies over enemy territory.

(gun bangs) On November 6th, 1944, serving in the 340th bombardment squadron, Second Lieutenant Ernest Vienneau was co-piloting a newly minted B-17 Flying Fortress on a bombing mission over targets in Maribor, Yugoslavia.

- It's difficult for anyone today to appreciate the difficulty of these missions, because these were long missions, these were relatively fast planes, but even at that time that meant that a mission into Europe and back could be 12 hours in the air.

- The B-17, typically he flew at 20,000 feet or more, were unheated and unpressurized, making the interior of the plane as cold as the outside.

And at that altitude crewmen endured temperatures as low as 30 degrees below zero.

- Imagine that you are on target, you have a mission, and your mission is to go to that target deliver your bombs but you can't veer from that.

Now you see that the anti-aircraft fire has started, so they know where you are.

You're now part of a big formation that has been discovered.

So you've got anti-aircraft fire from the ground.

Now you've got fighter aircraft coming up and trying to shoot you down.

You are seeing one plane after another getting hit and going down in your formation but you have to keep going no matter what.

(dramatic upbeat music) - [Narrator] Vienneaus plane faced a similar fate during its bombing run.

While over their target the formation was peppered with anti-aircraft fire.

Undeterred the crew was able to deliver their payload by flying through heavy flack from German 88 millimeter guns, 30,000 feet below.

Letters from surviving crew members tell an incredible story of valor under fire.

"On the approach to the target "the flack was very heavy.

"Just as we hear the bombardier say, "Bombs away", "one shell explodes right beneath us "hitting our co-pilot Lieutenant Vienneau.

"Soon, the plane rocks again, this time with a burst "below the number three engine, setting it on fire.

"The fuselage quickly fills up with smoke "and the flames are streaking out "past my gun position, and past the tail of the plane.

"Lieutenant Emerson asked me to get Lieutenant Vienneau "out from his seat as he was unconscious "and had his feet jammed under the rudder pedals.

"We took him out and laid him down on the flight deck "so I could attend to him.

"I took his blood clotted mask off from him, gave him mine.

"The pilot then requested a heading for the secret airstrip "on the Isle of Vis, off the coast of Yugoslavia.

"Before we got back to the runway "everything's stopped.

"When you have no engine of B-17 drops like a rock.

"We headed for the water "and the landing was quite smooth.

"With Bombay doors open water came in rapidly, "we didn't have time to get the co-pilot out.

"And the plane sank straight down, out of sight."

(dramatic upbeat music) The unpainted B-17 would remain at the bottom of the Adriatic sea for 76 years, with Ernest the only crew member not to survive the crash, possibly still inside.

Beginning a decades long mystery that would haunt his family for generations.

(bright upbeat music) The United States of America is unique in its approach to combat casualties.

The, "Leave No man behind", mantra can be traced back to the beginning of the nation's military history, and continues today with the help of the defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA.

The DPAA's mission is to fulfill the nation's promise to its war veterans who never make it home.

To find, recover, and identify, missing Americans from World War II, through the Persian Gulf wars.

- These are gold star families.

Yes, they know about the loss of their loved one in combat, but that grieving is exacerbated by the uncertainty attached to it.

And so for us it's not only fulfilling the nation's promise but it's also a commitment made to the service member, and more importantly to their family.

These families care deeply.

- [Narrator] And the goal of honoring this sacred promise is what keeps the DPAA and its civilian partners motivated, no matter how challenging the mission.

The work is often demanding and hazardous, taking place all over the world.

- We are sending folks to complex sites that have the deepest jungles, Himalaya altitudes, deep underwater missions.

So it's a very complex and dangerous mission.

(dramatic upbeat music) - [Narrator] One of those complex dive sites is off the Island of Vis, a valuable strategic location during World War II.

As the only part of Yugoslavia not overrun by NAZI's powers, this small island served as a safe harbor for planes in duress, during aerial combat.

A small dirt airstrip here saved the lives of thousands of allied airmen during the war.

Oftentimes these wounded bombers couldn't quite make the landing forcing them to ditch in the nearby coastal waters, leaving Vis with a large collection of wrecks on the sea floor and turning this small island into fertile ground for recreational divers, explorers, and most importantly, the DPAA.

Researcher and diver Brendan Foley has led several expeditions for the agency.

- DPAA came to us back in 2016, 2017 and asked if we'd be interested in helping them with the recovery of three loss crewmen on a B-24 called the Tulsa American.

And this was off the Island of Vis in Croatia.

So I put together a team of recovery experts, liaised with the Croatian government.

And in the end, we went over in the summer of 2017 and were able to dive on the B-24, excavate the site, and recover the remains of the pilot Lieutenant Ford.

- [Narrator] While the dive to recover, Lieutenant Ford was a success, it also served as a first step in the mission to uncover the mystery of what was believed to be Second Lieutenant Ernest Vienneaus plane in the same waters nearby.

- And just two miles away is the wreck of this B-17 on which Ernest Vienneau was lost in 1944.

So during the Tulsa American operation, we had weather days, we couldn't dive Tulsa American, but we were able to go and dive the B-17 and reconnoiter it.

And we did a site investigation then.

- [Narrator] Filmmaker Kirk Wolfinger was on Vis producing a documentary about the Tulsa American and also knew about the nearby B-17.

- Before we left for Croatia to do the B-24 film, Chelsea Carbonell and her uncle Bob had contacted us and said, "Nearby where you're going "in Croatia, we believe our uncle Ernest's plane is resting.

"If you have a chance to visit that plane "we would appreciate you putting a bouquet on there, "and just some kind of commemoration.

"'Cause if he's still there, "we'd like to commemorate it somehow."

So we knew the plane was there.

We knew that there was an airman lost on it, and now we had connection with the family.

- [Narrator] But there were still several hurdles to overcome.

Vienneau's plane was hard to identify.

It was brand new and had no markings when it crashed into Croatian waters.

Where today the DPAA needed permission to enter.

- It was a brand new plane.

It was the first time that plane had flown on a mission.

So they had to spend some time getting a serial number and identifying that airplane.

Once that was identified, they said, "Now we can go see if Lieutenant Vienneau is there."

- [Narrator] After more than two years of diligent work by the DPAA, permission was granted to dive on the B-17 again, only this time with the noble purpose of finding Ernest Vienneau, and bringing him back from the belly of the flying fortress at the bottom of the sea 4,000 miles from his home in Millinocket, Maine.

- So you imagine it's this beautiful blue Adriatic sea really close to shore, only about the distance of a football field, maybe a hundred yards off shore.

You drop down over the side of the boat, you can see 100 feet through this clear, clear water.

We start to descend down the shot line, and then at about 80 feet, suddenly you can see the entire aircraft from the tail right up to the nose.

The wings spread out, all four engines, some soft corals and bright yellow soft corals growing on it.

And it's stunning.

It's a beautiful, beautiful site.

And it's so jarring in a way because you never expect to see a fully intact aircraft, especially one that big outside of its environment.

You can, it's easy to see it on a airport tarmac but underwater with all the fish around and sea life, it's disconcerting, and sublime at the same time.

(gentle orchestra music) - [Narrator] After several reconnaissance dives, it was determined that Lieutenant Vienneaus remains were in a small crawl space in the bottom of the fuselage.

He had been put there by his crew mates after sustaining a massive head wound during their mission.

The space was confined making the dive difficult.

- There was only room for one diver inside the aircraft at a time.

So on the day that we knew we had found Ernest Vienneau I was outside the aircraft fuselage near the escape hatch, and my diving operations manager, Phillip Short was inside in zero visibility.

Feeling, basically, with his eyes closed, trying to find the remains.

And then he said, "Boss, I've got him."

And he worked his way out, and out of this cloud of sediment, he held up the skull of Lieutenant Vienneau.

And we paused for a moment, and it was very somber.

We were elated because this is success for the mission, and its closure for the Vienneau family.

But it's also a moment of reflection on the sacrifice that this young man and so many young men made for the country, for the world, during that conflict.

- [Narrator] The discovery of Ernest's remains also answered one of the biggest questions about his death.

- In the heat of battle, you can imagine that the crew may have been more concerned with their own safety, with fighting off the Luftwaffe with trying to nurse this damaged bomber back to a safe haven.

And I was really concerned that he hadn't died instantly.

Maybe he was just wounded and perhaps he sank still alive.

But the a minute I saw that skull I could see the entry wound on his left temple, and I could see the exit wound behind his right ear.

And it was absolutely clear that his death was instantaneous and he probably didn't suffer at all.

And that gave me a sense of calm and a sense of relief.

So it's quite something to be thinking, all these thoughts with a column of water that's 23 stories high above you.

- [Narrator] After several more dives Ernest remains were fully recovered and flown back to the US, where they were officially verified and prepared for burial.

With the agonizing search now over, Lieutenant Vienneau could finally come home.

(bright upbeat music) - Wow, so this is the B-17?

- [Narrator] Before making her long pilgrimage to Maine for Ernest burial, Chelsea Carbonnell visit it's a restored B-17 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, hoping to make a personal connection with her great uncle's heroic service that fateful day of November 6th, 1944.

- Oh my gosh.

Wow, so the last day of his life he was walking in here, huh?

- [Narrator] Experiencing the space where Ernest and his crew mates fought so bravely 77 years ago.

- I feel like I could go back in time and see them in here.

- [Narrator] As she makes her way through the confined body of the Flying Fortress, up to the cockpit where Ernest spent his last moments, Chelsea begins to fully understand her uncle's legacy.

- So he sat right here.

Wow, he would've been sitting right here when he got flack through the window.

(gentle inspiring music) I've always loved history but to have history come so close and to be my family, and it's really part of all of our story, you know.

World War II, is the world story, we look back on the American servicemen and what they did, and just so grateful, so grateful.

And I think about him and look at the pictures of him, and think about his life and how much he was so loved by his family, that they never gave up hope.

And they were never the same after he was gone.

To actually know the whole story, and have him be brought back from the bottom of the ocean and now to be sitting in the plane where he's sat, I'm just amazed.

This is very memorable, I'm never gonna forget this.

And when I'm standing in front of his casket I will think about, think about this.

(gentle upbeat music) - [Narrator] Millinocket has changed a lot over the decades Since Ernest Vienneau left for war.

The mills have closed and the population has declined, but the fighting spirit that Ernest, his brothers and so many others had back then is still here, especially on this day.

As an entire community comes together to honor their lost brother.

♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ ♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost, but now I am found, ♪ On the crisp autumn morning of October 9th, 2021, Ernest Vienneau finally comes home to rest.

The town of Millinocket welcomes home, a true hero.

And a family is reunited with their loved one after decades yearning for answers.

(inspirational upbeat music) - This closure for my grandparents, they have waited so long wondering where he was.

And I just I know they're all smiling down from heaven today, you know, watching us, the family come together.

- My grandpa, you know and all of his siblings, I mean, they carried this.

They carried this not being closed their whole lives.

And so for us to bring closure to it, it just means a lot.

- That's one of their sons, Millinocket sons, not just our relative, but Millinocket.

And I think it's very important that when somebody goes off to war that they're recognized and I think Millinocket for sure is proud of that.

That they can say, "They fought for us."

- I think it speaks to the hometown connection of the men and women we send off to combat.

They come from all walks of life, they come from all parts of this country, but in the end, this is their home.

His siblings are buried here.

His parents buried here.

It's that reconnection of reuniting him to the town that he grew up in, the family that he grew up with, and more importantly, that connection that strong connection to hometown America in this case, Millinocket.

- It's kind of hard to put into words but you know, he's coming home.

He's gonna be here.

I mean, we've gone up to the cemetery and see his name on the monument.

And we've all thought the same thing, "I wish he could be here", so now he is gonna be here.

(gentle trumpet music) It finalizes everything for us.

It's a connection that we wouldn't have otherwise.

I mean, say I've seen cousins today that I haven't seen in years and Ernest is bringing them all here.

So we can have this family reunion in his honor.

- Ready.

(gun clicks) - Aim, fire.

(gun bangs) - [Narrator 2] Ernest's demise was tragic.

You know, he was a fallen hero, but died very young, never got to experience life.

But maybe his greatest legacy may be 75 years later, he's brought his whole family together.

And now there's a whole new chapter for the Vienneau family.

(lively cheerful music) - [Narrator 3] This was a very special family, the people we loved, loved him very deeply and cared about him.

- You never forget the ones you love, they always, they always stay with you, whether it's in your heart, because you love them so much or they they stay in your mind, you never forget ones you love ever.

- [Narrator] The final chapter of Ernest Vienneaus story, as finally been written, a story of courage, determination, and now peace.

All these years after volunteering for that fateful mission over Nazi territory in a war that defined a nation.

Home with his parents, siblings, and living relatives, who spent lives, searching for him, a fitting return for this son of Millinocket, Maine.

(upbeat inspiring music) (air whooshing)