World War II History

Supposed WWII skeleton found dangling above Kokoda Track

ABC, The Age
Thu Aug 28, 2008

Found: The skeleton of what is thought to be a World War II pilot hangs in the jungle canopy along the Kokoda Track (No-Roads trekking company)

Australian, US and Japanese authorities are investigating the discovery of what is thought to be the skeleton of a World War II pilot along the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.

Hikers say they discovered the skeleton hanging from the jungle canopy halfway along the 96-kilometre historic World War II path.

Guide David Collins from Melbourne’s No-Roads trekking company was there.

A Kokoda Track guide hopes a family will finally be able to put a World War II veteran to rest after a Victorian police officer found what could be a skeleton ensnared in jungle canopy.

Melbourne-based tour operator David Collins said the police officer had stopped to take a photograph of the dense bush when he noticed something dangling from the trees about 15 metres above.

“The wind started blowing and it was obvious it was not part of the flora, it was something else and looked to be connected by a cable and it appears to be a human body,” he said.

“It was very difficult to make out and I’m still questioning myself but I was quite convinced at the time and it does look like a body in an aluminium harness.”

“It’s swinging like somebody caught in a tree and that’s when you can really see the cabling and it’s the exact shape of a body, same size, everything, but it’s just covered in moss,” he said.

“It’s exactly what it looks like, just somebody caught in a harness, in a seat harness.”

Australian, US and Japanese authorities will check records to see if any pilots were reported missing in that area.

“It was only when the wind blew and it began twisting and flying back and forth that it became apparent that it appeared to be a body,” he said.

“What it looks like is a parachutist has come through the canopy and got caught and just stayed there in an upright position.

“It is completely covered in moss it is only because of the shape of it and the aluminium and cabling that makes it look like a body at all, other than that, it looks like branches of a tree and still may very well be.”

The police officer has declined to speak about the discovery made about halfway along the historic 96-kilometre path, where 600 Australian troops died fighting Japanese forces.

Mr Collins said the tour group were walking along the highest stretch of the track, between Templeton’s and 1900 crossing at the top of the Owen Stanley Range.

He said the Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea has been notified and it is believed the Australian Defence Force Human Remains Recovery Team will investigate.

“It’s a significant find, if it is what it appears to be, and will put some family’s mind to rest to know what happened to their loved one,” Mr Collins said.

‘Lost in the fog’

Mr Collins said a lot of planes went missing during the war in the general area where the skeleton was found.

“All of them were generally lost in the fog and bang they go in,” he said.

Among those that flew in the area at the time were the Royal Australian Air Force’s 75 and 76 Squadrons, which flew P-40 Kitthawk fighters.

American B-25 Mitchell bombers were also in the area at the time along with P-39 Airacobra fighters.

Mr Collins said he believed a B25 had crashed during the war about 500m from where the possible remains were found.

“Aircraft crashed all over the area, it is near Lake Myola that was a staging ground for the Allies and also where the biscuit bombers dropped their supplies,” he said.

“A lot of planes went into the ground.”

He said if the find did turn out to be a skeleton it could also possibly the body of a Japanese serviceman.

United States and Japanese authorities in Papua New Guinea have been notified and along with Australian are checking records to see if any pilots were reported missing in that area.

About 25 local porters walking with the tour group told Mr Collins they had not previously heard of a body in the area.

“There is evidence of the war everywhere you walk, pieces of mortar bombs and bits of bullets everywhere on the track,” Mr Collins said.

“There were a lot of bodies that weren’t recovered because of the nature of the jungle which was some of the most hard-fought areas of the Second World War.”

The remoteness of the site and the difficulties involving in locating and working with anything in the thick jungle canopy mean that it could be months before any identification of the skeleton is made.

News, New Guinea, Skeleton, Remains, WWII, Kokoda Track

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