EVEN after such a long time, we constantly find remains of missing servicemen, downed planes and sunken ships from the Second World War. The islands and waters of the Pacific are littered with the detritus of that conflict. I recall a story from Saipan where a man went on a smoke break and, just a few yards into the jungle behind his building, he found a box of grenades. Lord knows why, but he brought the box inside and opened it to show his colleagues, who smartly threw him back out.
The nature of that war, scattered as it was across thousands of miles of sea and sand, meant that many people, ships, and aircraft disappeared without a trace, like Richard Upson, who served as a fighter pilot on an American aircraft carrier. In 1944, during an attack on the Japanese base at Truk (Chuuk), he dove through a cloud and was never seen again. Was his plane blown to bits by anti-aircraft fire? Did he ditch in the sea and sink to oblivion? Did he crash-land on one of the dozen islands in Truk lagoon and possibly survive? Upson is one more name on the list of American MIAs.
One organization devoted to shrinking that list is Sealark Exploration. Operating out of New Zealand, Sealark works to locate as many remains and wrecks as they can to repatriate fallen servicemen and solve mysteries. Sealark will go anywhere in the Pacific their research takes them, but their primary area of interest is the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Vanuatu, settings for some of the most vicious fighting in the whole Pacific War.
From their website, sealark.co.nz, here is a brief introduction to the leaders of Sealark.
Matt Wray
An experienced sea captain, Matt brings with him over 30 years of maritime survey experience to his position as Director of Sealark Exploration. He gained his IHO Cat A Hydrographic Surveyor qualifications whilst serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy or RNZN. He currently manages his Sealark work around hydrographic survey project management and his time as a Commander in the RNZNR. As a hydrographer he has had an extensive career, starting as a survey specialist sailor, and progressing to the Hydrographer RNZN. He has experienced all aspects of hydrographic surveying in a wide variety of locations, including the tropics and the Solomon Islands.
Ewan Stevenson
Ewan was born on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon’s and grew up there. From an early age he was exploring WWII battlefields in the surrounding seas of Iron Bottom Sound. A fluent Pidgin speaker, Ewan has a lifelong passion for WWII historical research and archaeology of the South Pacific. He has conducted and participated in a number of expeditions to the South Pacific particularly to the Solomon Islands.
Ewan has participated as a volunteer SME on a number of US Defence Department DPAA surveys in the Solomon’s with Brent Prop Group. Ewan’s discoveries include the sites of the USS Aaron Ward (DD-483), USS Seminole (AT-65), Japanese midget submarines and a number of aircraft sites.
Mark A. Roche
In addition to being an experienced diver, Mark has owned and flown numerous WWII naval aircraft. In 2006, Mark founded the former Gauntlet Warbirds, a training facility for general aviation pilots seeking warbird training and experiences. He also founded Mustang Aviation, which provided airshow demonstrations of WWII naval aircraft. Mark served on the Boards of Directors for the National Museum of the Pacific War, The Admiral Nimitz Foundation and The Indiana Military Museum in the U.S.
There are other similar organizations. Project Recover searches for American remains in Palau, while Lost 52 Project is dedicated to finding the American submarines that went missing. Kuentai-Japan is a non-profit organization that searches for remains of Japanese servicemen. Every time one of these organizations returns the remains of a service member, a family rejoices and finds closure. That is surely a worthy goal.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for 20 years. He currently resides on the mainland U.S.
BC Cook
