DARING AIRMAN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 July 1942, Page 4

DARING AIRMAN

GALLANT RESCUE ATTEMPT IN NEW GUINEA. BOMBER CREW BROUGHT TO SAFETY. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright) SYDNEY, July 13. In a patched-up 27-year-old plane, an American pilot set out on a gallant attempt to bring help to his crew, who were stranded in the heart of New Guinea after their bomber had been forced down. Failing to clear the central New Guinea ranges, the antiquated aircraft crashed into the mountainside. The pilot is now in hospital with both his legs broken. After their bomber had crashlanded, the crew discovered a 1914model plane at a deserted trading post. For a week they worked to make it airworthy. Motor-car petrol was the only fuel available. The pilot coaxed the plane to within a few feet of the tops of the 8000 ft mountain range, but treacherous air currents caused it to crash. The accident was seen by the crew, who climbed for 24 hours to reach the wreckage. Later an Australian pilot saw their signals and made a hazardous landing in a small jungle clearing to bring them to safety.

During the time they were missing the injured American pilot grew a luxuriant beard. He says he will not shave till ‘the day I bomb Tokio.”