US bid to find remains of WW II aircraft, personnel in Arunachal

Information has been received from Arunachal Pradesh over the past two years about the wreckage of six aircraft — two bombers and four cargo planes. “This has given us a starting point,” she said, shortly after a team met top officials of the Ministry of Defence, including Defence Secretary Vijay Singh. “We reviewed several sightings that we would like to work together on,” said Crisp. She expressed satisfaction at the “spontaneous” response from the ministry and was hopeful of securing India’s clearance and cooperation in the effort.

Wednesday’s meeting — the first contact on the issue was in January this year — comes close on the heels of reports from Arunachal Pradesh quoting locals as saying that they had spotted wreckage of WW II aircraft in the Lohit and Debang valleys.

JPAC is keen to go out to these areas soon, probably by late summer this year, after its personnel have been trained in high-altitude operations. “We may begin with three places where wreckage has been sighted…we are relying on the expertise of the Indian Defence Ministry on how best to tackle the issue,” Crisp said. She said they were looking at another meeting over the next few months to work out the details of the operation.

The last recorded signal from these aircraft was either from India or somewhere near India. “They seem to have been lost in jungles or mountains,” Crisp said. Most of the 90 aircraft that JPAC is looking for were cargo planes flying into China from India.

Once remains of those missing in action are found, it gives a sense of “closure” to the family, Crisp pointed out, explaining the importance of the painstaking efforts that have taken JPAC to 11 countries across the world. JPAC estimates that 78,000 US nationals are missing from World War II, 8,100 from the Korean War, 1,800 from Vietnam, 120 from the Cold War and one from the Gulf War.