Now, nearly eight decades after his plane went down in PNG, Young has been buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

It was on 18 January 1943 when Young and went missing in action flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber named the Algernon IV.

That day, Young was Benn’s co-pilot as part of a mission to discover clearings in the jungle that Allied forces could use for emergency landing zones for aircraft harmed in enemy action.

It’s unclear exactly what led up to the B-25’s crash into the mountains in the Owen Stanley Range, however Hagen said the aircraft lost its left engine.

It remains unknown whether the loss was from combat damage or a mechanical error, but Hagen noted that reports indicate there were severe thunderstorms the day the crash.

Hagen initially embarked on a crusade in 1995 and devoted years to trying to recover the B-25 his uncle flew.

“I received a quick education in the magnitude of the challenge confronting me,” Hagen said. “I realised that this would not be easy and it would require a significant investment of time and resources.”

After multiple excursions, Hagen found a total of eight US military aircraft that were listed as missing in action. Among them was his great-uncle’s B-25.

“I made a series of expeditions usually four to five weeks in duration that resulted in the discovery of Bill’s plan in 1998,” Hagen said.

“Along the way, I discovered several other MIA [missing in action] war planes and helped return the remains of 18 airmen for burial with full military honours.”

Despite Hagen’s efforts, he never found dog tags to identify Benn. However, he did find dog tags and articles of clothing belonging to Young and delivered Young’s mortal remains to the US Embassy in Port Moresby in June 1998.

DNA testing confirmed the remains belonged to Young, paving the way for Young to be buried with full military honours at Arlington National Cemetery.

Hagen said he was initially inspired to launch the excursion to find Benn’s aircraft and remains due to Benn’s role pioneering the ‘skip bombing’ technique that allows the bombs to skip the surface of the water before striking the side of a ship.

“I was motivated to find Bill’s plane and film a documentary about my search and his life because he played a major transformational role in the early air war but he was lost so early that the scale and magnitude of subsequent events cause his service to be forgotten,” he said.

Benn served for a period of time as a personal aide to General George Kenney, the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from 1942 to 1945. Hagen said Kenney’s remark in his memoirs that “no one in the Pacific Theatre made a greater contribution to victory than Bill Benn” inspired him to track down the missing aircraft.

“That extraordinary compliment from a highly regarded commander convinced me that I needed to search for Bill’s plane and tell his story in an effort to correct the historic record and give my great uncle his due,” Hagen said.