About this project

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to engage you in asking for your help in an important cause—the discovery and repatriation of fifteen Americans back to the United States from a small Pacific island.

These Americans have the dubious distinction of being the victims of the very first hijacking in aviation history.   They were a mix of civilian Pan Am Airways personnel, scientists and military reservists headed to China prior to World War II.  Although the United States was at peace with Japan, sabotage, espionage and criminal activities were on the increase between the two nations. 

On the morning of July 29, 1938, the Pan Am Clipper left Guam enroot to Hong Kong via the Philippines.   It was just after the point of no return (below the 50% fuel mark) that the Martin M-130 was allegedly hijacked at gunpoint and forced to land at a Japanese Navy seaplane facility in Truk Lagoon.  There, the Americans were interrogated and murdered by poison to be later buried face down on a concrete slab.  The aircraft, with its very high tech 950hp engines, was then flown under newly painted Japanese markings to Yokosuka, Japan where the power plants were copied and parts later installed on the A6M2 Zero Fighter.  The purpose of the hijacking was to steal the four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines and reverse engineer a new line of aircraft power plant, eventually becoming the 925hp Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 engine.  Additionally, three million dollars in Chinese Relief money was also on board, which eventually was discovered much later in a Saipan bank vault in 1944.  

Your contribution will enable me to return to the island (visited previously in 2009) and use Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to localize the 15 bodies for DNA identification.  After the suspected site is processed, the bodies will be recognized by the US Government for return to the United States (they will not intervene until a positive site ID is completed).  All funds raised will be used only for transportation (from the US to Micronesia and inter island boat fees and costs associated with hiring local labor). 

THANK YOU for your consideration and support.

Warm regards,

Guy