Plane wreck could belong to US army

By CAPTAIN KEITH HOPPER

I KNOW very little about Amelia Earhart and so cannot comment on recent reports in The National..

However, I do know a great deal about United States Army Fifth Air Force operations in the southwest Pacific area, that is, PNG.

One of the greatest mysteries of the Fifth during World War Two was the loss of Fifth bomber command’s commanding officer, Brig Gen Kenneth N. Walker.

The 43rd bomb group B-17 Flying Fortress that he was in, was shot down by Japanese fighters whilst exiting the target area (Rabaul) on Jan 5, 1943.

He had been involved in a mass daylight raid on Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbour.

Walker had been ordered by Fifth Air Force commanding officer, Gen George C. Kenny, not to personally participate in bombing raids.

However, it was early in the war and Japan held air superiority over all of New Britain and Northern New Guinea.

The Fifth Air Force was suffering heavy losses and Walker felt that his attendance on the mission would send a clear message to his airmen of his determination and commitment to defeating Japan.

When Gen Kenny heard of the loss, he nominated Walker for the congressional medal of honour, the US military’s highest award.

To date, the wreckage of Walker’s B-17 nicknamed “San Antonio Rose” has not been found; however, from the reports of other US airmen on the mission and post war interviews of Japanese fighter pilots, it is known that the aircraft crashed in the Wide Bay/Open Bay area.

So it is a very real possibility that the recent aircraft wreck discovered in Wide Bay may be that of Brig Gen Walker.

The US army will no doubt be following the discovery closely, as will Walker’s son Douglas, now in his late 60s.

I would like to thank The National for reporting the find, and look forward to future updates as more information comes to light.

 

 

Port Moresby not a murder capital

Police Commissioner Gari Bari on Friday, January 9, 2009, wrote to The National newspaper defending himself from criticisms leveled at him by David Williams (see earlier posting)

By GARI BAKI, Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner

A LETTER to the editor (Jan 8) by David Williams of Port Moresby challenged me to get my facts right in response to my comments over an international report by Foreign Policy magazine listing Port Moresby as the fifth murder capital of the world.

I stand by my statement that Port Moresby has not at any one time, be it day, month or year, over the last 10 years, recorded 54 murders.

Port Moresby, with an estimated population of 500,000, cannot be compared with other capital cities which have anything from three to 10 million people.

The writer had put forward statistics arguing otherwise.

Murder is the intentional and unlawful killing of one person by another and is not the same as deaths or killings, which could be from a number of causes.

I hope the writer and Foreign Policy magazine are not getting these three confused.

As Police Commissioner, I will not allow such misleading reports to go unchallenged because, over time, it will be accepted as fact.

It is these kinds of reports that contributed to our poor world credit ratings and will have serious negative implications on our development aspirations.

We do have a serious law and order problem but to rank us alongside major world cities was totally unfair.

That was the point of my argument.

I would like to ask the writer – what is your point and what have you done to address this growing concern?

Law and order is not a police problem.

It is a societal problem.

It is everybody’s problem.

People like the writer conveniently shy away from what should be a collective responsibility to fight crime.

You do not have to join the police service or take up arms to fight crime.

Your involvement can be subtle and, yet, still send a powerful message.

Here are three ways you can help in the fight against crime:

* Refuse to be in the company of or entertain relatives/friends you know who are involved in a life of crime;

* Refuse money, food or other gifts which are proceeds of crime; and

* Report to police if you know of a crime that had been committed, is being committed or will be committed in the near future.

Many so-called law-abiding citizens are doing none of the above and are just as guilty as the man who pulled the trigger or robbed the bank.

I totally concur with the view that there are no innocent bystanders.

I would like to ask not only the writer, but also readers, when was the last time you saw something wrong and did something constructive about it?

I consider myself a strong nationalist and have dedicated my entire life to protecting and serving the people of Papua New Guinea.

Policing in PNG is very difficult, given the various constraints such as having access to appropriate or adequate resources, equipment and funding, but we are doing the best we can.

As Police Commissioner, I have initiated programmes which will see the creation of a highly trained and professional police service committed to serving the six million-plus people of Papua New Guinea.

Finally, to the writer, if you are a Papua New Guinean you should hang your head in shame.

If you are an expatriate, then you are being well fed, so either shut up or leave PNG because you cannot contribute meaningfully to our development.

 

Gari Baki

Commissioner of Police

Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary

 

Get your facts right, Baki

Check this letter to The National newspaper which appeared on Thursday, January 8, 2009, and the reply above from Police Commissioner Gari Baki above.

By DAVID WILLIAMS

With due respect, I believe Police Commissioner Gari Baki is completely out of touch with reality when he said that “I have been a law enforcement officer for more than 35 years and I know, for a fact, that we have not had 54 murders in Port Moresby at any one time over the last 10 years. In fact, our annual average nationwide was much less.”

 I would go so far as to say, that if Mr Baki genuinely believed this was the case, then he should resign immediately.

The National, on Nov 2, 2007, (http://www.thenational.com.pg/110207/ Nation&209.html) reported: “Statistics showed that there were 424 murder cases reported this year and 496 last year. Port Moresby and Western Highlands province (WHP) reported the highest cases of rape and murder this year. But Port Moresby has seen a decrease with 95 murder cases reported this year compared to 119 last year.”

Please wake up, Mr Baki. – David Williams, Port Moresby

 

Big response to Amelia Earhart stories

Last week’s stories about a plane wreckage in East New Britain province thought to be that of famed American aviatrix Amelia Earhart has brought back a flood of response.

The National has been inundated with phone calls, emails and visits from people since the publication of the stories and feature article in the Weekender last Friday.

A group of local men claimed to have found a plane wreckage with the Bureau Number 06751.

This brought back a swift response from Craig Fuller of the Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research (AAIR) in California, USA.

“The 40- serial numbers - the USAAF equivalent of USN Bureau Numbers - only go up to 40-3162, so it is not possibly 40-6751,” he said.

“The USN Bureau Number 06751 is for a Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless.”

According to Fuller’s USN Lost list at http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLApr43.htm, that plane crashed at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on June 4, 1943, claiming the life of its pilot Second Lieutenant John H. Fould.

“It is also possible the number found is not the plane's ID number, but another marking altogether,” Fuller added.

Asked if there was any possibility of the wreckage being Eahart’s, he replied: “Personally I do not think so.

“So what I was doing was trying to identify what it is.

“Right now, Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless Bureau Number 06751 is the best candidate.

“While the loss location lists Guadalcanal, that could be an error or where it took off from, or where it was last seen.

“Unfortunately I do not have any more details on that loss other than what is listed.

“Are there any photos of what they have found?”

Australian, Steve Bennett, based in Port Moresby commented: “Amelia broadcasted a radio transmission that was picked up by a US Ship at Howland Island, out past Kiribati.

“After leaving Lae, Howland was her next destination and final stop before trying to get to Hawaii.

“She never landed at Howland.

“She did confirm that she had passed Nukumanu Islands, which is the most Eastern part of PNG that she crossed and if she did go down in PNG, then Nukumanu is the place to look... not in East or West New Britain.

“But, if they do find it in the jungles up in the Bainings then good on 'em.

“That is one plane that should really be returned to the US.

“WW2 wreckage should remain in PNG.”

Papua New Guinean student studying in China, Mathew Yakai, said: “This puzzle must be solved for once and all, I guess.”

Bulolo MP Sam Basil off to witness Barrack Obama take office

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

BULOLO MP Sam Basil (pictured above with US Ambassador to PNG Lesley Rowe) will be representing Papua New Guinea to witness the swearing-in of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, The National reports. Mr Basil will join millions of Americans in celebrating the inauguration of Obama in Washington DC on Jan 20.

He will be the only person representing PNG and the Pacific Islands region to witness the change of guard in the US.

The trip is fully funded by the US government, which will enable politicians, journalists, academics and others to witness the transition of power in a civil society and how democracy works in the US.

US Ambassador to PNG Leslie Rowe said Mr Basil would have the opportunity to talk to local officials involved in the US elections.

“He will have the chance to meet with winners – politicians who won the elections – and losers – people who lost the election – in North Carolina and Ohio as well as in Washington DC,” Ms Rowe said.

Mr Basil thanked the US Embassy for the opportunity to travel to the US for the first time.

“My people of Bulolo are happy and excited that I will be taking this trip.

“They asked me to convey their thanks to the US Embassy, especially the ambassador, and they are delighted and happy for a politician to take the trip to broaden my mind and, also when I come back, I should have an in-depth knowledge of America.

“It’s a very historical event where we will see the transition of an old administration to a new one,” Mr Basil said.

Ms Rowe said this would be a unique trip that Mr Basil would undertake with 21 other delegates from at least 20 countries.

“This is a very unique trip; he will be in the US for about two weeks, initially travelling to Washington and then to two other states, Ohio and North Carolina,” Ms Rowe said.

Mr Basil will be joined by 21 other delegates from countries in Latin America, Africa and South Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.

 

 

Port Moresby morgue continues to stink

And our social problems continue to build up as the government turns a blind eye

 

The Port Moresby General Hospital Morgue continues to stink with a terrible stench spreading over a 1km radius yesterday as bodies were removed from a ‘shipping container’ morgue to a new one donated by hospital chairman Sir Brian Bell.

The stench of the decomposing bodies has people in the vicinity holding on to their noses to avoid the terrible smell.

National Capital District Commission says it will bury the unclaimed bodies en masse this week after publishing the names of the dead in the daily newspapers.

And all this time, the silence of the government over this issue, and others since the beginning of this year, has been deafening.

The people of Papua New Guinea want the government to publicly come out on:

• The Port Moresby General Hospital Morgue issue;
• The burning issue of corruption;
• Reports that Port Moresby is one of the ‘murder capitals’ of the world;
• Grenades and rocket launchers being found on planes;
• The burning ‘execution’ of a young woman in Mount Hagen last week.
• The murder of Air Niugini pilot Timothy Houji on New Year’s Day;
• Increasing sorcery-related killings all over the country;
• Increasing compensation claims all over the country; and
• Many, many, more.

The government has to publicly admit now that its education and health system is in a mess.

It is now the gut feeling of many Papua New Guineans that the government, in its mad rush for independence, has failed miserably to look after our education and health systems over the last 33 years.

This is why the country is in such a mess right now.

 

InterOil fuel supply to Wewak and potential tidal-affected zones

PORT MORESBY: The Wewak fuel supply situation has arisen due to unusual conditions (sea swell associated with the December King Tides) that made it impossible to safely berth the InterOil Products (IPL) supply vessel to discharge fuel to the depot just before Christmas.

 At least four attempts were made to safely berth the vessel, the most recent after sailing to Manus to discharge fuel there before returning to Wewak to try and berth again. Following the unsuccessful attempts to safely berth the vessel during December, it was necessary for the vessel to depart Wewak to make deliveries to other ports that were about to run out of fuel completely after the long delays incurred at Wewak.

 To reduce the impact of the supply shortage in Wewak, IPL has arranged for containers of drums to be sent from our Lae and Madang Terminals and also rationed the remaining fuel in Wewak until the supply vessel can next sail into Wewak.

The vessel has a voyage cycle of typically 23 days to deliver fuel to all of IPL's Ports in PNG and Wewak has to be towards the end of the voyage due to the available draft (depth of water) in Wewak.

At present, the supply vessel is next due to sail into Wewak on / around the 13th January when we hope that the tide and sea swell conditions will be favourable for the vessel to berth safely.

 In respect of the general enquiry regarding fuel arrangements for areas potentially affected by the predicted unusual tides in the first half of January, IPL has completely filled the vessel on the current voyage to provide as much fuel as possible in our storage tanks at all ports.

The media will continue to be kept well informed of developments as they unfold.

For further in formation please contact

Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager - Media Relations

InterOil Corporation

Ph: 321 7040

Mobile: 684 5168

Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com