Searching for war heroes

A PROJECT Recover team composed of eight scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Delaware, and the BentProp Project lead by Dr. Andrew Pietruszka and accompanied by representatives of the PNG National Museum and the US Embassy visited Madang to locate and document a missing US aircraft shot down in WW2.
Their mission, supported by the US Government was to locate the missing aircraft based on records that have been extracted by the various institutes involved with the project.
The scientists used the Kalibobo Spirit for accommodation which was also used as the base for the project and utilized the Dallman Diver, a professional diver boat owned by Niugini Dive Adventures which is based at the Madang Resort.
The search began near Wangat Island where a known B25 crashed and over the past 30 years had become a well known dive site.
The search then continued towards Sek Island where they discovered another US and two Japanese aircraft.
The team interviewed many of the people from Kananam and Sek who were able to locate the site where it is believed an airman was buried. The scientists were also told that a dog tag collected was possibly taken to Karkar Island which would later be investigated.
A memorial service was held for the airmen missing in action from the aircraft and the American flags from this ceremony will be held by the team until remains are recovered, identified, and their family contacted by the US government. Then, they may be delivered to the family of the airmen who lost their lives.
Following the visit to Sek, the scientists travelled to Lalok village and the entrance of the Minjim River where locals told of an aircraft that had crashed into the river mouth during the war. Possible evidence of this crash included aircraft debris that were collected and used by the people in nearby villages.
Whilst working at Lalok, the Kalibobo Spirit anchored at Garagassi harbour, beside Gorendu village which was the home of the famous Russian naturalist and explorer, Nicholai Mikloucho-Maclay where over the past few years the Melanesian Foundation had constructed a sea wall to prevent erosion which would have caused the memorial erected in 1971 to deteriorate.
The memorial commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first visit of Maclay to Gorendu when he arrived on the Russian Frigate, the Vitiaz.
For the exploring team, the last search took place along the coast of Madang Township between the Country Club and Madang Lodge where photographs obtained showed a US aircraft crashing close to the coast in a depth of between 150-200m.
The equipment used by the scientists includes powerful remote control submarines that were programmed to record metal and other unusual shapes that could be an aircraft or other objects.
When such unusual shapes came into view, the scientists dived to confirm exactly what it was that appeared on their monitors which were based aboard the Dallman Diver and the Kalibobo Spirit.
Some of the readings from the various devices and transducers took many hours to properly decipher.
The Project Recover team will share their findings with the US government and Papua New Guinea government and it is hoped that the information obtained by this project can be used by the United States to eventually recover the remains of missing crewmen and negotiate the remains to be sent to the families.
Dr Pat Scannon, a medical doctor spent some time inspecting and discussing the fate of another aircraft which crashed near Siar Island where it is believed, from the stories told, the survivors were taken to Nobnob, beheaded by the Japanese and buried at Amron, outside Madang.
Before their departure, Dr Pietruszka expressed his entire satisfaction with the project during a dinner hosted by Sir Peter Barter at the Madang Resort. He praised the crew of Kalibobo Spirit as well as the friendliness of the Madang people who had been so helpful to his team of scientists and said they hope to return later this year to undertake further underwater explorations.
Sir Peter responded stating that such a mission could help to improve the poor image of PNG internationally, especially in the USA which is a major market for tourism in PNG. He urged the team to write and tell the true picture of PNG, the friendliness and security about Madang and PNG, suggesting that the various websites including TripAdvisor which would help dispel the fear of so many people who feared visiting such a fantastic destination.
The scientists left Madang on Sunday bound for their homes in the United States of America.
l This article and pictures were supplied courtesy of Sir Peter Barter Managing Director of Melanesian Tourist Services Ltd.