Their Endless Quest for Lost Aircrew in the Southwest Pacific
At war's end in the Pacific, the fate of a thousand missing Australian airmen hung in the balance. Headed by tenacious Squadron Leader Keith Rundle, the RAAF's search and recovery party covered countless thousands of kilometres by air, by sea and on foot. In their quest to bring home the stories - and sometimes also the remains - of downed aircrew, the searchers frequently traversed steep and hazardous terrain, even clinging precariously to cliff-faces to investigate crash sites. In the jungle, crocodiles and snakes were not their only enemies - isolated pockets of armed Japanese soldiers remained at large. Many of the stories are told here for the first time: heroic stories of those few who walked out of the wilderness; and tragic tales of those who never made it. Still others stayed with their wrecked aircraft and slowly perished. Other episodes reveal the dark side of the war with Japan, uncovering hidden graves. Included are many rare photographs as well as maps chronicling this little known but dramatic aspect of the war in the Southwest Pacific.
