Luciano (Lou) Sapienza, founder and director of the Fallen American Veterans Foundation (FAVF), outlines the Foundation's ongoing investigation, search, and recovery operations for U.S. military personnel Missing In Action (MIA).

Sapienza and specialized science crew from FAVF have led cutting-edge efforts in Greenland, to locate and repatriate the remains of fallen American heroes from WWII. The Foundation’s future work planned for Antarctica, Vietnam, and other international locations has a profound impact on military families, veterans, and the global community.

Current Missions Include:

• J2F-4 Grumman Duck (Greenland Mission): FAVF is leading efforts to locate and recover the remains of crew members from the J2F-4 Grumman Duck, which crashed in Greenland during WWII. Utilizing advanced geophysical surveys and expert search teams, FAVF works to bring home these brave men, lost within their aircraft beneath the surface of the Greenland in oine of the most remote and harsh environment in the world.

While this mission remains ongoing, past efforts to locate and recover the USCG J2F-4 Grumman Duck air crew were captured in the book Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase for those who are interested.

• C-53 Skytrooper (Greenland Mission): The recovery of eight crewmen from a WWII C-53 Skytrooper that went down in Greenland and is believed to be up to 350 feet below the surface in solid ice. The crew of this aircraft was lost in the challenging Greenlandic landscape, and the mission focuses on unearthing their remains to fulfill our promise to bring them home.

• George 1 (Antarctica Mission): FAVF’s groundbreaking Antarctic mission aims to recover the remains of the last three U.S. casualties of WWII in Antarctica—the crew of the “George 1” lost on December 30, 1946. This mission is one of the most challenging and significant in the Foundation's history, as they work to return these fallen heroes to their families.

  These missions exemplify FAVF’s unwavering commitment to honoring the service and sacrifice of American military personnel Missing In Action, ensuring that they are never forgotten.

Lou Sapienza is a photographer, explorer, facilitator, speaker, and mentor whose work has been published worldwide in LIFE, National Geographic, Forbes FYI, Paris Match, Le Figaro, Cigar Aficionado, Reader’s Digest, Gulliver (Italy), Air & Space, Outside, and many more. He has led multiple missions to Greenland and remains dedicated to these and to the investigation, search, and recovery of U.S. service personnel Missing in Action from WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam through the Cold War. He is the founder and director of the Fallen American Veterans Foundation. He lives in Rockport, Maine.