An Adventure in Borneo
By John H. Foster
Waldoboro, Maine
Concerning An Incident of Missing Personnel
Following is a list of the name, rank, serial number and
name and address of the next of kin of each member (10 in
all) of a crew of a B-24 Bomber which left Kornasoren Air-
drome on the Island of Noemfoor on a Single Plane Shipping
Strike off the coast of North Borneo and failed to return.
/Plane was last heard from by radio at 6:35 A.M. on Sun-
“day, October 22, 1944 when its location was presumed to be
off the coast of North Borneo in the vicinity of Tarakan, ap-
proximately 1000miles from its base.
There was no indication of distress in the last radio re-
port and in the opinion of the War Department, whatever
happened to this plane and its occupants was sudden and
without sufficient warning to enable the crew to issue a dis-
tress signal.
CREW MEMBERS
Name and Serial No. Rank
NEXT OF KIN
Name and Address
-.—— — ———–
First Lieut. Mrs. Sara Kornblum,
Wife
2114 Mapes Ave.,
New York, N. Y.
Gayle W. Kizer, Pilot Second Lieut. Mr. Martin Kizer,
0700404 Father
Apache, Oklahoma.
Lester Kornblum,
0684117
Beryl Pritzker,
01686392
Second Lieut. Mrs. Dorothy Pritzker,
Mother
700 West Ayres Ave.,
Peoria, Illinois.
Second Lieut. Mrs. Vera K. Pfeiffer,
Mother
Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
David G. Pfeiffer,
0707981
—— .- _. —
Mrs. Florence E. Foster,
Mother
52 Edgell St.,
Gardner, Massachusetts
Now: RFD 4, Waldoboro,
Maine.
Mr. Frank Curletti,
Father
2269 27th St.,
Astoria, N. y.
Mrs. Anna Dolenga,
Mother
19152 Revere
Detroit 12, Michigan.
Mrs. Elizabeth S. Colcher
Grandmother
2104 Scottwood Ave.,
Toledo, Ohio.
Mrs. Hattie E. Flood,
Mother
Route No.2,
Daingerfield, Texas.
Mrs. Sophie Kahn,
Mother
676 E. 93rd St.,
Brooklyn 12, N. Y.
Members of 371st Bomb Squadron
307th Bomb Group (H)
13th Air Force
Plane No. B-24-L-44-41422
Type-Model-Engine Series No. R-1830-65A
Engine Nos. ‘
(a) BP 444269
(b) BP 444730
(c) BP 444410
(d) BP 444392
(Page 3)’
Donald Vernon Foster, Tech. Sgt.
31261163
Peter Curletti,
32822110
Tech. Sgt.
Raymond C. Dolenga, Staff Sgt.
16148312
William J. Reynolds, Staff Sgt:
35236425
Durward R. Flood,
18176270
Staff Sgt.
Seymour Kahn,
12083769
Sergeant
(Page 4)
My trip took me around-the-world by plane. I ~ravelle.d
about 35,000 miles in all and approximately 33,000 miles of It
by air. Total elapsed time was six months. Stops were made
in the following countries or islands after flying across the
United States to California: Hawaii (Honolulu), Phoenix
(Canton), Fiji (Nandi), New Caledonia (Noumea), Australia,
Java, Borneo, Banka (Pangkalpinang), Malaya, Singapore,
Siam, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Italy, Holland, England,
Ireland, Newfoundland. As 1 retraced my “steps” on sev-
eral occasions, 1 was in Java three times and Singapore twice
and crossed the equator six times in all.
The reason for my trip was the incident described above.
Being deeply disappointed over the feeble information fur-
nished by the War Department concerning our case, I started
preparing for the trip in July 1946. Nineteen months were
spent laying plans: securing pass-port, visas; arranging trans-
portation and studying currency regulations; meeting vacci-
nation and inoculation requirements; and contacting mis-
sionaries, civil authorities, government agencies and busi-
ness men and private citizens in foreign lands (mostly in the
Netherlands East Indies). ‘
I set-out on January 15, 1948 with a certain goal in mind.
It was ‘~to find a plane believed to be that of the crew of
which our son was a member:’>’ It was by mere chance that
I made an inquiry in Australia about twenty months ago.
I was surprised to find that the Australian Air Forces had a
record of our son. It was secured from an American Cap-
tain. The information in itself was not helpful, but some-
thing else was. A Flight Lt. Belcher of the R.A. A.F. had
picked up this information in Balikpapan, Borneo and then
proceeded to interview Japanese prisoners being held at that
point. A Jap prisoner, Lt. Kazuo Namiki, testified that he
knew of a plane that had come down in the water, about two
hundred meters from shore, near a place called Domaring
Dajak on the east coast of Borneo and northwest of Cape
Mangkalihat. When Lt. Belcher discussed this information
with an American searcher, it was agreed that there was a
strong probability that this would be the plane of Pilot Kizer
and his crew.
This information was relayed by me to the U. S. War
Dept.; it was gratefully acknowledged and I was told that a
radiogram would immediately be sent to the Pacific Head-
quarters for a complete investigation and report. Up. to
the time I left on my trip, there was no report on the inci-
dent. In the meantime, my ~lans were completed and I
advised the Adjutant General s Office that I intended to
take this trip on my own responsibility. I was advised by
the War Dept. not to take the trip, as 1 “would only be dup-
(Page 5)
licating the efforts of the War Dept.,” altho they offered no
objections. However, I was told that I would receive no
transportation or subsistence and that any information giv-
en me while abroad would be confined to that concerning
my own son and not to any area in general. Of course, I
had asked for nothing more than cooperation and had hoped
spccitlcally to “meet up” with an American search team for
a close-up view of their activities and whatever help I might
get in our own case. It was quite evident that the War Dept.
wanted no O!1e to interest himself too deeply in what had
gone on in the way of searches – or “what had not gone on.”
Information came from the War Dept. to me as follows:
“The Office of the Quartermaster General has organized the
American Graves Registration Service to search for and re-
cover the remains of our deceased soldiers who have sacri-
liced their lives on the foreign fields of battle. The teams of·
this Service are composed of specially trained personnel who
have been thoroughly indoctrinated to perform this ardu-
ous task of searching these remote. regions of the world.”
Later. in Borneo, these wordsr’trang inmy ears” as I seemed
to find myself in a country “beyond the REMOTE regions of
the world” – for I was the”Hone’>American searcher in all of
Borneo at that time.
When I reached Australia, I went from Sydney, where
I made my headquarters, to Melbourne and visited the Royal
Australian Air Force Hqrs., by previous appointment. There
I was warmly received and given free access to their search
records. I talked with the officer who solved the case in
which Hilkey Robinson’s son was involved and I learned of
the Vetter case. Lt. Belcher was not there but the officer
in charge tried to reach him by phone 3000 miles away. Later
on. after I had returned to Sydney, the R.A.A.F. sent Lt.
Belcher to see me. His advice regarding travel in the is-
lands of the East Indies was valuable and several of his sug-
gestions turned out to be very helpful. I was delighted with
my visit with him and even more so when I found he was
being demobilized by the Australian Air Forces and was to
be hired on a Civilian basis as a searcher for the United
States Search Forces.
I went from Australia to Singapore (by previous ar-
rangement) and there I changed my plans considerably,
acting principally on the advice of Lt. Belcher. When I
entered Batavia, Java (having previously advised the Am-
erican. Consul there wherr-I expected to arrive), I found
there had been some question as to whether I could stay
there, as there seemed to be no accommodations for me. This
was quickly settled when a Capt. Ostmeier of the Royal Neth-
erlands Indies Army volunteered to take me into his home
(Page 6~
for a short time. This was a most fortunate circumstance;
Capt. Ostmeier was Lt. Col. Doup’s Adjutant and Lt. Bel-
cher had strongly recommended that I call upon Col. Doup
of the Dutch War Graves Service in Batavia. This chance
arrangement, through Lt. Belcher’s suggestion, m~F q.t.” a
time when the American Consul might have liked~of~!’-1o
find a place for me to stay, made possible everything that
followed, in Java and Borneo.
The Dutch War Graves Service took an immediate in-
terest in my case. Thru them, I was introduced to various
military departments, civil authorities, the attorney Gener-
al, the Commissioner of War Crimes, the C9mmissioner of
Police in charge of Tjipinang prison wherE(.~;i~ prisoners
were kept in Batavia, and others. I had letters of introduc-
tion from American friends to the top executives of the
.Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (Batavia Petroleum
Company). All of these peoEle are Dutch. The one and only
attitude of the Dutch was •what can we do for this man?”
And you can believe me when I say they did everything that
could be done for me. I spent two weeks investigating b~.
Batavia and taking advantage of all 01 the contacts’~\Vl1i<:Jj)
were provided. A car and chauffeur were provided wlien 1.
needed them. Officials left their desks and went with me
to make my contacts easier. The Commissioner of War
Crimes, thru the approval of the Attorney General, tool. me
to Tjipinang prison where I had the opportunity to inter-
view prisoners who might know something of the Borneo
area and the incidents that took place there. I had the “dubi-
DUS” privilege of interviewing General Yamamoto Moichero,
former Chief of Staff of the 16th Jap Army and Governor
General of Java during the Japanese occupation, now rank-
ing prisoner in Tjipinang. I also interviewed Sato Kateo,
who had beheaded an American flier, and several others.
I informed the American Consul that I should like 1.(\
meet an American search team and get acquainted with it!”
members. I was told that there was none in Java. Upon inquir-
ing about the same possibility in Borneo, I was told that there
was none there. The same was true of the Celebes. When
i inquired as to where I would have to go to meet a search
team, the American Vice Consul said he thought there was
a team at Morotai. I kept the American Consul’s office ad-
vised as to what I was doing all the time, describing Dutch
cooperation, etc .. but received no direct help or other advice
from th<k\source. To,.give my visit some publicity in the
hope of~moking ou.,}linformation that might possibly come
from unknown sour’ ~s regarding incidents in Borneo, the
Dutch Military Publicity Dept. wrote a long article which
was published on p2~e 1 of the April 28th, 1948 issue of HET
(Page 7)
DAGBLAD, the principal Batavia daily newspaper.
Arriving in Balikpapan, Borneo from Batavia. I was met
by the General Manager of B.P.M. and immediately taken
to their own tropical “hotel,” where I was given a room and
the privilege of eating in the company restaurant. Practical-
ly nothing else was available in Balikpapan in the way of
lodging and food. I was introduced to other company of-
ficials and each did his utmost to see that I was comfortable
and well taken care of. Through them, I met the Harbor-
master, the Assistant Resident, the Military officers and the
Auditeur Militaire at the Santosa prison camp, where up-
triedJJap,prisoners were being held. At this prison I found
Lt. K-.nUo Namiki. who verified the statements previously
made to Lt. Belcher. Furthermore, I met Lt. Shoji of the
Jap Navy who knew more than Namiki. I also interviewed
Captain.Tadah, Lt. Hattori and a few others, all of whom
wereC~ap~2prisoners. I ~as interested in ~attori because it
was he~wno was responsible for the execution of three Am-
erican fliers at Samarinda, all from the Island of Noemfoor,
from which our crew flew to Borneo on this uncompleted
mission. To those who know of and are interested in..a plane
that went down at Sang a Sanga, I believe thesepoys’ were
members of the crew of that plane and were executed when
they were recaptured after escaping three months after the
incident in Nov. 1944.
At this point, it was my further good fortune to be joined
by the Dutch Capt. Ostmeier of the Netherlands East Indies
Army and his Adjutant Warrant Officer Alphonse Jans, an
Indonesian by birth. A military assignment to Borneo per-
mitted them to travel the same route which I had chosen
and it was arranged that we travel together. After the Cap-
tain and Jans had further interviewed the prisoners, we pro-
ceeded by boat to Samarinda; from there we expected to
find a means of going direct to the plane wreckage at Domar-
ing Dajak. Shoji told us that this particular plane was a
B-24. that it circled the Kampong of Talisajan and then at-
tacked a convoy of four Japanese ships in a single plane
strike. that the plane succeeded in sinking one ship and then
was shot down by Mine Sweeper No. 36. He could tell us
nothing of survivors or what had happened to the crew.
At Samarinda we met the military authorities; the Resi-
dent, Dr. van der Zwal1; the Resident Secretary, Mr. J. P.
de Jong and other officials. We missed Rev. Harry Post, a
missionary. who was up-river on a mission, but we did see
Mrs. Post and two of the children. The oldest child, aged 7.
was in school near Makassar in the Celebes Islands, as Eng-
lish is not taught in the Samarinda schools.
At this point, in preparation for our trip up the coast,
(Page 8)
the Military authorities furnished three Military police. This
made a military escort of five and I needed no more inter-
preters as Capt. Ostmeier, in addition to speaking Dutch and
several other European tongues, spoke the various native
tongues fluently. Jans was also proficient in several tongues.
We inquired about possible transportation and succeeded in
“hiring” the IDA, a small steamer about 80 feet in length.
The price [or rental was approximately $400 per day in Am-
erican money – but again good fortune came my way. The
Resident and the Resident Secretary thought that inasmuch
as this boat would have to make a couple of stops relating
to civil affairs the next time out, there seemed to be no rea-
son why they would charge me for the use of the ship while
performing these duties. This sort of thing was typical of
the Dutch; they helped me because they wanted to, and they
wanted no compensation in return. When I wrote to thank
Dr. van der Zwall, he said, “You know, Mr. Foster, we have-
n’t forgotten what the American forces in various parts of
the world have done to bring about our liberation; this is
the least we can do for you.” .
Before leaving Balikpapan, I had met an American Lieut.
in charge of a topographical photographic team of eleven
men. He was very friendly but obviously had no authority
to help me, even in using his B-17 for taking pictures of the
wreckage that I was later to find. I was a lone searcher of
the American species in all of Borneo; there were no .4mer-
icang, there to my knowledge, except two buyers of~~scrap
lrorf'” from a large American company and two men whose
ventures in foreign trade had landed them in the “brig” at
Tarakan, for a temporary stay, at least. With no help from
Americans and everything being done by the Dutch, I secret-
ly began to wonder about all the fine things I had alwavs
believed about the land of my birth.
The IDA had a crew of fourteen and was skippered by
Hassanoelmoerad, an Indonesian, as were all the crew mem-
bers. Leaving Samarinda, we went down the great Mahakam
river to its delta in the Makassar Straits and proceeded north-
ward to the little island of Sangkoelirang, where we put up
for a few hours. From there we followed the coast line to
Cape Mangkalihat, where the ship was to discharge some
supplies to the light house. Capt. Ostmeier and Jans were 1P
the habit of questioning natives wherever they met them and
had information that one of the lighthouse attendants knew
a native at the Kampong of Bedo-Bedo (phonetic spelling)
who knew the location of this plane. borne out as described
below. We rounded the large Cape, the easternmost point
of Borneo. just less than 1 degree north of the equator. and
proceeded northwesterly up the coast about 15 miles to Bedo-
(Page ~)
Bedo, just east of 118 degrees East Longitude. We anchored
and the skipper blew a long blast on the whistle to get at-
tention from the shore. After waiting a few minutes, we
saw three natives carrying a small prahu on their shoulders
\0 the water’s edge. One man came out to our boat – and
either by accident or because the news of our coming was
“wirelessed” through the jungle from Cape Mangkalihat,
the man in the small boat was Noeroedin, the very native
we wanted to see. He frankly admitted knowing the loca-
tion of the plane and, at our request, he returned to the shore
and brought out the Kapela (Tribal Chief). When the Kap-
ela gave his permission for Noeroedin to go with us, the lat-
ter also promptly agreed and we proceeded towards Dornar-
ing Dajak.
Darkness fell upon us and we passed the coveted spot
without recognizing it and continued on to the Kampong of
Talisajan, where, by telegraphic arrangement with the Con-
troleur at Tandjoeng Redeb, we were to meet him or one
of his officers the following morning. Anchoring a mile off
shore, we sent Jans and Simon Patiatta, an Ambonesian (one
of our military police) ashore to spend the evening and bring
back any information that might be secured from the nat-
ives. They returned about midnight. They had a great deal
of information that had to be pieced together and we learned
that we were to receive a visit in the morning from an of-
ficer delegated by the Controleur. He was the Kiai Kapela
of the Talisajan District (head Kapela of several Kampongs
named Hassan Basrie Galar Raden Djaja Perwira.
At day break he appeared in a motor launch with six
natives. He placed his launch at our disposal and accom-
panied us on the trip back along the coast in search of the
wrecked plane. There were twelve of us, including Capt.
Ostmeier, Jans, two military police, H.B.G.R.D. Perwira,
Noeroedin, five natives and myself. Low tide, at which the
wreckage would be visible, was due at 11:30 A.M. so we set.
out at 7 A.M. while the tide was still high. About 9 o’clock,
Noeroedin informed us that we had reached the spot, altho
there were no signs that would indicate it. As the tide moved
out, parts of the plane gradually appeared above the surface
of the water – and surely enough, Noeroedin had marked this
spot in some manner that seemed uncanny.
It had been necessary for us to abandon the motor launch
quite a distance from shore and call upon a fisherman for the
use of his prahu to take us further ashore. We finally had to
wade in shallow water for the last 50 yards or so. Our in-
.spection ot,the wreckage began just before the tide reached
)’dead low.”: The plane, which had fallen “out of control” as
reported by the natives, was smashed into tiny bits for the
(Page 10)
most part. We found the four engines about 50 feet apart.
the four propellors standing like crosses as though they had
been placed that way, the landing gear fairly well intact
except for one missing tire reported.to have been taken with
many other .usable par~s by the~ap~) and hundreds of small
parts and bits of aluminum, In the few hours afforded by
low tide, we examined parts and took numbers that might
aid in identification. Most of these, maybe all of them, were
Common Part Numbers and were not useful. The plane
number B-24-L-44-41422 was not. to be found anywhere. The
tail, wings and fuselage were either reduced to small bits
or had been taken by natives and melted down for the mak-
ing of pots and pans. The engines were firmly imbedded in
the sand and tangled with projecting parts of a coral reef
on which the plane had fallen. We had no equipment with
which to hoist an engine for proper inspection of engine
numbers. We suspected the numbers may have been chis-
eled out, as we had found the serial numbers of the tires cut
out. The incoming tide gave us due notice that we were
thru for the day and it was concluded that we could do noth-
ing more without having equipment that would enable’ us
to get one of the engines, at least, ashore. On the return
trip to the IDA, rough water was too much for the heavy
laden launch and seven of us decided to.go ashore and wait
for the IDA to pick us up. It was a relief, after several hours
of waiting in jungle territory, to see the steamer approach-
ing.
Our next job Was to question natives about this partic-
ular plane and crew. There was.JgJ;? of) information – some
seemed plausible, some fantastic, some dependable, some
worthless. Out of it came a picture clear enough to justifv
our belief that this was the plane of Lt. Kizer. Shoji’s story
was substantiated and four other facts were made clear, viz.,
(a) it was a B-24; (b) it was a single plane shipping strike;
(c) it happened late in October 1944; (d) it happened about.
9 A.M. These were likewise the facts about Lt. Kizer’s plane.
The natives were very wary in our first interrogations and
it took some time to establish their confidence. Then, bit
by bit, came information from a number of natives, inter-
viewed separately, that five of the crew had bailed out suc-
cessfully and escaped. We secured information to the effect.
that a Soendanesian school teacher named Raden Soekarna
had killed two of these boys and caused the death of the
other three. Many inquiries about Soekarna developed the
fact that he was known to be in prison at Balikpapan. It was
reported and verified that Soekarna worked under the Jap-
anese Chief of Police, named TAkahashi, at Tandjoeng Redeb.
Like many other cases of aid to the Japs along the Borneo
· (Page 11)
coast, this was one of enforced aid. By landing a compar~-
tively small number of troops in each coastal kampong,. It
was easy for the Japs to take over and enforce cooperation’
of the natives under penalty of death.
Inquiries about graves and remains of bodies were fruit-
less. Only two natives, one of them a son of a Sultan, would
admit having seen or having heard of a body being seen.
Our inquiries took us up the coast to Tandjoeng Redeb, lo-
cated about 35 miles inland on the Berau River, where we
met the Dutch Controleur, Mr. Kooijmans, and his wife. An
interesting sidelight at this point was that Mr. Kooijrnans :
took me in his jeep to Taloek Bajoer where I received minor
medical attention from an Indonesian doctor named Ab-
doerrivai, whose notebook contained the names of many
Americans with whom he had served in the medical corps
in the New Guinea sector. The distance between these points
was 8 miles and the road was not more than ten feet wide –
and it was the only road in this section of Borneo.
While I was with Mr. Kooijmans, Capt. Ostmeier visited
the Sultan of Sambalyoeng for verification of some of our
testimony, particularly that concerning the boys who were
reported to have bailed out safely. It seems important at
this point to relate a certain fact, viz., any inquiry made of
a Dutch Officer, either military or civil, a Sultan, an Ameri-
can missionary or practically any European in all of Borneo
will bring this stock answer: “there isn’t a chance that a white
man could be alive in Borneo without the knowledge of the
officials”; that the presence of a white man or the “down-
ing” of an airplane is great “news” and the news travels like
wildfire through the jungle – furthermore, that the natives
are incapable of keeping secrets. I was willing to agree that
it all sounded logical enough – but when the Captain asked
the Sultan if he knew of the plane which we found, he ans-
wered in the negative. This exception could, of course, re-
peat itself many times and proves my contention that until
the territory is thoroughly searched, we\\fo~’!) know. My
feelings are also borne out in the finding, only last June, of
HI Jakun natives, near Kota Tinggi in Southern Malaya
These natives, in hiding from the ..laf>~)had been there since
1942 and didn’t know the war was over until found by a for-
est ranger. All of them were in good health.
From Tandjoeng Redeb, I sent a cablegram, containing
full details of our findings, to the American Graves Regis-
tration Service at Manila. This was followed by six other
cables and two letters at later dates which brought no ans-
wer. I also cabled the Auditeur Militaire at Balikpapan pris-
on, requesting that he interview Raden Soekarna further.
At Tarakan, to which point we proceeded from Tandjoeng
(Page 12)
Redeb, a cable from Balikpapanstated: that the Auditeur
Militaire had just completed. a further interrogation of Raden
Soekarna on a boat as it was preparing to leave with a load
” of prisoners.fpr Tjipinang prison in Batavia, Java; that Soek-
/~’t.arna statedf’tbat five men bailed out from the plane in ques-
“,/ ‘Tron and’ escaped to the north.” I am pointing out this inci-
dent in regard to Soekarna’s testimony for a reason that wil\
he made clear later. I also wish to record the fac~ that Soek-
arna gave this information voluntarily and was not asked
any leading questions; At Tarakan, we gave up the “IDA”,
having completed our journr-y. There we spent a week as
guests of the Batavia Petroleum Company – in the rneantime.
interviewing natives who had been in the Tandjoeng Redeb
area at an earlier date. No boats were available out of Tara-
kan and we departed at the end of the week by plane for
Balikpapan.
The same hospitality was again available at Balikpapan
and while there, I located Takahashi in prison and inter
viewed him through Fujita, a non-prisoner. Takahashi would
admit nothing and after interviewing Shoji again, I departed
for Batavia, Java, to which point Capt. Ostmeier and Jans
had preceded me from Balikpapan.
At Batavia, in Tjipinang prison, we Interviewed Raden
Soekarna several times. He was smart and difficult. He
firmly denied having anything to do with the murder of the
soldiers from the plane, but did admit killing an Indonesian
man and woman under orders from Takahashi, for provid-
ing food for the escaped boys, presumably three months af-
ter the crash and at a place called Tandjoeng Prapat. Soek-
arna volunteered to help solve the case by confronting Taka-
hashi in Balikpapan prison – this was in the hope that he
might have his sentence of twelve years reduced, and he was
certain he could make Takahashi talk. Unfortunately, while
we were in favor of this meeting, it couldn’t be arranged a~
that particular time.
About a week after returning to Batavia, I was told by
a Dutch officer that the AG.R.S. at Manila was sending the
former Australian Officer Belcher to Batavia to discuss this
case. Mr. Belcher did arrive several days later and altho
he had other business in Batavia, he devoted himself to a
full discussion of the facts and made many notes from my
records; I also gave him much written information. I rec-
ommended to Mr. Belcher that an immediate follow-up be
made of my findings and suggested that some of the same
people be used again, if possible. I also offered to accompany
the ~arty back to the scene of the plane for further inves-
tigabon. Mr. Belcher was not able to give me an immediate
reply but did agree to make a recommendation to A.G.R.S.
(Page 13)
in accordance with my suggestions. It was agreed that I
would wait in Batavia until hearing what, if anything, the
American search forces were prepared to do. Failing to he~~
from him after a full month spent in Batavia and Bandoeng,
I proceeded to Singapore on my return journey.
Two days after arrival there, I received a cable from the
Dutch War Graves Service in Batavia that Mr. Belcher had
arrived. It was unfortunate that he hadn’t announced his
coming, as I would have stayed in such case. In the circum-
stances, I cabled back agreeing to return to complete the Bor-
neo trip with his party if it seemed advisable to do so – other-
wise I would proceed, as planned, across Asia and Europe
on my homeward journey. Receiving no reply, I went on to
Bangkok, Siam. Several days after arriving in England, I
received another cable from the Dutch War Graves Service
that Mr. Belcher, with a B-17, had proceeded from Batavia
to Balikpapan, Borneo on July 3, to work on this case.
Within the last few weeks, I have received information
from various sources. Officially, Mr. Belcher and his party
of eighteen were unable to identify this plane, altho they
did move all parts. An investigation is being made now in
British North Borneo to locate a native said to possess cer-
tain identification discs reported to have been taken from
bodies in the wreckage near Domaring Dajak. Mr. Belcher,
it is reported, is of the firm opinion that all ten men were
killed in this crash and that none escaped. This is hard to
reconcile with our own findings. I am not commenting fur-
ther on the merits of the respective findings at this time,
but am trying to bring about a meeting of Mr. Belcher and
the officers who accompanied me to determine where the dis-
crepancy lies. Mr. Belcher has interviewed Soerkarna as
well as we and is entitled to his opinion that Soekarna is not
telling the truth.
I have also heard from two missionaries who have told
me that they have seen American searchers in Borneo since
my departure – for this, I am truly grateful. I do not wish
to discredit the efforts of the American searchers, but I do
know that they wouldn’t be there now except for my search
which brought about their follow-up. I am still carrying on
a great deal of overseas correspondence and have every in-
tention of following this case to its conclusion, even to re-
turningtQBorneo if that seems like the thing to do.
Altllo)his is a very short story fJand so intended to bep”;>!
cannot end. it before making certain comments. For example,
I was the recipient, in the Far East, of a signed copy of a list
of American Searchers working in the Pacific. It contained
the names of a few Americans, a few Australians and about
ninety Philipino scouts – or about one hundred in all. I
(Page 14)
learned, too, that they were all working in New Guinea. Be-
cause the majority were Philipino scouts, I made inquiries as
to their ability as searchers. The answers were not com-
plimentary. 1 learned, on good authority, while still over-
seas, that the files of A.G.R.S. in Manila of missing person-
nel in the Pacific, are far from complete. This seems incon-
ceivable, of course; but, unfortunately, it is probably true.
As my assistance was requested in doing whatever I
might be able to do in bringing the Manila files up to date,
I strongly urge every family with a loved one missing in the
Pacific area – no matter how much correspondence has gone
on before or how many records have already been supplied
to the Government offices – to send a further record to Man-
ila, addressed tor “HEADQUARTERS, A.G.R.S., PHILCOM
ZONE, A.P.O. 900, Manila, P. I.” (Correspondence contains
confusion of addresses – try A.P.O. 707, San Francisco, if
P.O. does not accept first address.) Send it air mail – and
be sure it contains the usual personal information: name,
rank, serial number, scars, small photo (if available), etc.,
and a statement of the last information you received from
the War Department regarding subject soldier’s known or
unknown status or fate or whereabouts.
While I was in Balikpapan, Ilearned of an American
searcher, spoken of by Europeans there in the highest terms;
they said he had been in Balikpapan for a period of eight
months, during which period he worked under the handi-
cap of having no plane, no ship and no equipment of any
kind and furthermore, alone without assistants. In the eight
months, they said, a plane came twice from Calcutta head-
quarters to note his progress. This searcher finally had to
give up, I was told, because of ill health. The same people
told me of a B-24 plane (American) shot down on the shore
of Balikpapan Bay some three years before. It nosed into
the soft mud on the shore and became almost completely
submerged, only a small piece of the. tail remaining visible.
Altho this was known to the American searcher, he was com-
. pelled to abandon it through lack of facilities – and it is still
there in the mud today, the plane and crew unidentified.
These same people told me that if American searchers were
available to carry out searches properly in Borneo, they
would find 100 or more planes that have not been investigated
yet.
I was told in the Netherlands East Indies, by the Dutch,
that neither they themselves, nor representatives of any oth-
er nation, have yet picked up their dead in the great island
of SUmatra. This, presumably, is because of the existing
political situation.
With regard to the news article in the Batavia Dagblad,
(Page 15)
i ..,
previously referred to, the agency which produced it with the
full approval of the Dutch Military asked me for another
story of my adventure in Borneo. They wanted it for its
news value and wished to’ release it overseas through regu-
lar channels. I gave them the story with the understanding
that it be first checked and approved by the Dutch War
Graves Service, whose officers had cooperated with me. I
inquired some time later as to when the story would appear
in print – and was told that it wouldn’t – it had been sup-
pressed. When I insisted on knowing who had suppressed
the story, I found out, but promised I wouldn’t tell!
What was my biggest thrill? Finding a plane that the
American Search Forces couldn’t find – or, should I say, dig-
n’tIook for?
What was my greatest satisfaction? Getting the splen-
did cooperation and assistance of those fine Dutch people,
whose every effort was a genuine indication of friendship,
kindliness and sincerity. (Incidentally, I neglected to men-
tion that the Dutch authorities offered a reward of Five Hun-
dred Guilders to the person finding the airplane we were
searching for; it was paid to an Indonesian.) What other
big moment? Talking with my wife and daughter three
times by phone IrornBatavia, Java.
What was my biggest disappointment? Lack of Ameri-
can cooperation andlhe failure to search for the missing
plane in spite of the War Department’s claims that we were
so wonderfully well prepared to do so. .
I have told many families with sons missing in the Pac-
ific that I could offer them no encouragement regarding the
possible survival of their loved ones. Inquiries have been
made and disappointment registered as to the meaning of
this statement. I know now that it is difficult to put it into
words, but maybe this is the best way to say it: I just can’t
hring myself to the point of denying these families that last
ray of hope so deeply cherished, but on the other hand, I’m
very much afraid that whatever chance these missing boys
have had of being found alive has been thoroughly and com-
pletely dissipated thru the failure to provide proper searches
and at the proper time. I know that no one likes to make a
statement like this latter one, but we must believe some of
the things we hear – and most of the things we see. In my
own case, I still meditate deeply over the things I ;dfcfri’t:;see
in Borneo, but which I had a right to believe I would see –
if the statements of the War Department were to be relied
upon.
As time permits me from time to time to check through
my files and records, I run across little bits of information
that is of interest to some of you. In such case, I send it
(Page 16)
along to the interested party. Much of what I have, you
probably already know thru regular channels. Finding any-
~hing new after such a long interval of time was like look-
ing for a .needle in a haystack – and particularly so because
there were few or no records to check. I must express my-
self understandably with regard to my feelings towards those
engaged in and responsible for search of missing military
personnel. It’s the toughest job in the world; those active-
ly engaged in the process of searching and seeking informa-
tion through personal contact with the natives of these for-
eign lands deserve all the credit that it is possible to bestow
upon them. So far as the top management is concerned, I
have found little to applaud and much to be disappointed
over, – and I suppose I must say that I mean by top manage-
ment, the War Department, The President and The Congress.