TSgt Eugene J. Darrigan
U.S. Army Air Force, 5th Air Force, 90th Bomb Group, 320th Bomb Squadron
B-24D "Heaven Can Wait" 42-41216 radio operator Missing In Action (MIA)

Background
Eugene Joseph Darrigan was born November 7, 1916 to parents Daniel Joseph Darrigan and Maria Helena “Mary” Kehoe Darrigan in Wappingers Falls, NY. He was the third of five children. He graduated high school and attended one year of college and worked in the production of paint and varnish. He was a volunteer fire fighter at W.T. Garner Engine Company No. 1. He married Florence Richardson and the couple lived on 415 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY. On October 16, 1940 he registered for the draft.

Wartime History
On November 14, 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Albany, NY with the rank of private with serial number 32662082. He became a member of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) and was trained as a radio operator. During December 1943 sent overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 90th Bombardment Group (90th BG), 320th Bombardment Squadron (320th BS) as a radio operator aboard B-24 Liberators and flew bombing missions in New Guinea.

Mission History
On March 11, 1944 took off from Nadzab Airfield No. 1 as radio operator aboard B-24D "Heaven Can Wait" 42-41216 armed with eight 1,000 pound fragmentation bombs on Mission Number 71-D as one of eleven B-24s on from the 400th Bombardment Squadron (400th BS) and 320th Bombardment Squadron (320th BS). Returning, shot down by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into Hansa Bay off Awar Point.

Wreckage
During October 2017, a team from Project Recover led by Eric Terrill with Mark Alan Moline, Andrew Pietruszka, Eric Gallimore, Bob Hess, Andy Nager and Brian Kim performed an underwater underwater survey covering nearly 27 square kilometers of the sea floor nearly 27 square kilometers of the sea floor.

After eleven days, the team located the debris field of a B-24 Liberator at a depth of 212' on a sandy sea floor. A Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) documented the wreckage including the nose turret, nose wheel, main landing gear leg, propeller and tail section with one vertical stabilizer.

Based on the aircraft type and location, the team concluded is the crash site to be B-24D 'Heaven Can Wait' 42-41216. This identification has not yet been confirmed with a unique identifier associated with the bomber. During March 2018, this site was reported to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

Recovery of Remains
In late February 2023, a team from Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) with diver support from the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) conducted an underwater recovery of remains and personal effects including dog tags from the underwater crash site.

On September 20, 2024 Darrigan were accounted-for by the Department of Defense (DoD) using dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence.

Memorials
Darrigan was officially declared dead the day of the mission.

He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. After he was identified, a rosette was added next to his name.

On March 21, 1944 at 10:00am a Mass of Requiem was held in his honor at Saint Mary's Cemeter.

On November 14, 1946 a memorial plaque was installed outside Garner Engine Company fire department where he volunteered prewar in Wappingers Falls, NY.

He has a memorial marker at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Wappingers Falls, NY. On May 24, 2025 at 11:00am he was buried with full military honors.

He is also memorialized at the Lt. Col. John K. Rinaldi Memorial Park (Dutchess County War Memorial) in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Awards
Darrigan earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously.

Relatives
Daniel Joseph Darrigan (father died 1942)
Maria Helena “Mary” Kehoe Darrigan / Darrigan (mother died 1967)
Florence Dorothy Richardson Schindler (wife died 2002)
Tom Schindler (son of Darrigan)
Daniel Schindler (grandson of Darrigan)
Gary Thompkins (nephew of Darrigan)
Eugene Tompkins (nephew of Darrigan and namesake)
Virginia "Ginny" Pineiro (niece and goddaughter of Darrigan)

References
NARA WWII Draft Registration - Eugene Joseph Darrigan, October 16, 1940
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Eugene J. Darrigan
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Eugene J. Darrigan
FindAGrave - SSgt Eugene J Darrigan (tablets of the missing photo)
FindAGrave - SSGT Eugene Joseph Darrigan (Saint Mary's Cemetery)
Poughkeepsie Journal "Sergeant Darrigan Killed in Plane Action at Wewak" March 17, 1944 page 1
Poughkeepsie Journal "Mass of Requiem Planned For Staff Sergeant Darrigan" March 20, 1944 page 7
Poughkeepsie Journal "Fireman to Honor Member Killed in Military Service" November 14, 1946
Poughkeepsie Journal "Remains of first Wappingers soldier killed in WWII found after more than 70 years" May 24, 2018
Poughkeepsie Jounral "Son 'amazed' at discovery of Wappingers World War II soldier" May 26, 2018
Poughkeepsie Journal "Son reacts to discovery of father's remains" May 27, 2018
Poughkeepsie Journal "After 80 years, a WWII airman from Wappingers has been accounted for. How it happened" February 17, 2025

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