{"id":23488,"date":"2015-08-22T18:25:02","date_gmt":"2015-08-22T18:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:16:16","slug":"last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/","title":{"rendered":"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly 70 years to the day after Japan surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II, a Pacific <\/span>Helldiver was reunited with his aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As 91-year-old Art Plumadore\u00a0walked down the ramp into the exhibition hall of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center\u00a0Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum <\/span>in Chantilly, Va., an annex of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, on Aug. 10, he stopped and gazed at the aircraft below \u2014 a meticulously restored\u00a0Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I can’t believe it!” he exclaimed,\u00a0turning to Dr. Jeremy Kinney, curator\u00a0of\u00a0American Military Aviation, 1919-1945<\/span>. “After all this time, I can’t believe it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final months of the war, Plumadore, then an aviation radioman second class,\u00a0flew in the back seat of this very aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo #: 80-G-348290 Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver scout-bomber, of Bombing Squadron Ten (VB-10), USS Intrepid (CV-11) Flies over Tientsin, China, as the city is reoccupied by the Allies, 5 September 1945. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver scout-bomber, of Bombing Squadron Ten (VB-10), flies over Tientsin, China, as the city is reoccupied by the Allies, Sept. 5, 1945.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Navy photo via National Archives.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plumadore saw limited action in the aircraft, known as “the Big-Tailed Beast” or more simply, “Beast.”\u00a0After signing up in 1943, he trained in Jacksonville and\u00a0at Naval Air Station DeLand, Florida, then headed to the Pacific theater. He saw brief action over Tinian, strafing targets with his .30-caliber machine guns, and over Saipan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Helldiver, a single engine,\u00a0carrier-based scout bomber, deserved its name. Plumadore\u00a0vividly remembers the feeling of flying above 20,000 feet, then hurtling down directly at a target to drop ordnance before leveling and flying off at about 3,000 feet. It was a scary ride, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plumadore and his pilot, Lt. George “Knox” Converse, were\u00a0assigned to the “Battling Beasts” of Bombing Squadron 92 aboard the aircraft carrier\u00a0Lexington. They\u00a0expected to participate in the assault on the Japanese mainland in the last stages of the war, an attack that undoubtedly would have claimed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. President Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war, came as a huge relief, Plumadore said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
George “Art” Plumador, 91, of Malone, N.Y., is reunited with his restored Curtiss SB2C Helldiver at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., on Monday, August 10, 2015. Plumador served as a radio operator and gunner in the Pacific during World War II.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plumadore, who left the Navy as an aviation radioman 2nd class, said he would have made first class, “but I liked to raise a little hell and got caught.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Mike Morones\/Staff<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent most of the next year as part of the occupation forces before sailing out of Tokyo Bay aboard the Lexington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the aircraft, it ended up sitting outside for years, then at Pensacola, before the Smithsonian acquired it in 1960, according to\u00a0Dr. Jeremy Kinney,\u00a0curator\u00a0of\u00a0American Military Aviation, 1919-1945.\u00a0It was in bad shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renovation, which took several years, was completed last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“During World War II, Navy bombing squadrons flew Helldiver dive-bombers against Japan from November 1943 to the war’s end in September 1945,” according to the Air and Space Museum’s website. “After a prolonged development, about 30 Navy squadrons operated Helldivers aboard 13 carriers. Changes in carrier tactics, technology, and weapons made dive-bombing \u2014 delivering a bomb at a steep angle to increase accuracy \u2014 obsolete as the war progressed. The Helldiver was the last dive-bomber operated by the Navy and the last significant combat aircraft produced by Curtiss-Wright.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
George “Art” Plumador, 91, of Malone, N.Y., is reunited with his restored Curtiss SB2C Helldiver at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., on Monday, August 10, 2015. Plumador served as a radio operator and gunner in the Pacific during World War II.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

George Arthur Plumadore is reunited with his restored Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. Plumadore served as a radio operator and gunner in the Pacific during World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Mike Morones\/Staff<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft — a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[12,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[758],"class_list":["post-23488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MDPY5WXHXFBELE5UFOFPM2CRCQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nLast of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft -- a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft -- a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-22T18:25:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T19:16:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kent Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kent Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2015-08-22T18:25:02+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T19:16:16+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 698,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"News\",\n\t \"Your Navy\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited - Navy Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2015-08-22T18:25:02+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T19:16:16+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft -- a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/22\\\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"News\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Your Navy\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"your-navy\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 4,\n\t \"name\": \"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited - Navy Times","description":"Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft -- a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited","og_description":"Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft -- a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2015-08-22T18:25:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T19:16:16+00:00","author":"Kent Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kent Miller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited","datePublished":"2015-08-22T18:25:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T19:16:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/"},"wordCount":698,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg","articleSection":["News","Your Navy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/","name":"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2015-08-22T18:25:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T19:16:16+00:00","description":"Nearly 70 years after the end of WWII, a Navy radioman was reunited with his aircraft -- a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/22\/last-of-the-helldivers-man-machine-reunited\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Navy","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/","ad_zone":"your-navy"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Last of the Helldivers: Man, machine reunited"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635748179039542334-nav-helldiver08jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23496,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23488\/revisions\/23496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23488"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=23488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}