FY 2000 WWII Report to Congress Appendix A: FY 2000 Mission Summaries

Vanuatu

Vanuatu Mission 1
(10 January through 08 February 2000)

This incident involved the 22 April 1944 loss of an SBD-3 Dauntless Dive-Bomber on the island of Espiritu Santo. The crash site was located 10 kilometers northwest of Lorum Village and to the northeast of Luganville. This was the home of the famous “Black Sheep” Squadron. 2 bodies were not recovered during the time of the incident. Human remains were recovered on a previous investigation in July of 1999 and again during this mission, along with some personal effects, resulting in the closure of the site in FY 2000.

Vanuatu Mission 2
(15 April through 14 May 2000)

This case involved an aircraft loss on the island of Efate. The site aired on Australian television, revealing remains. However, upon further investigation, the story turned out to be a hoax. The team switched operations to the island of Espiritu Santo and conducted investigative operations. Preceding the investigative mission, CILHI sent a team to Vanuatu to meet with Australian expatriates living there to build an information infrastructure to receive data on new cases. This has served the organization in the same manner as it has in Papua New Guinea.

FY 2000 WWII Report to Congress Appendix A: FY 2000 Mission Summaries