Aircraft History
2nd Lt. Garrett E. Middlebrook ferried this B-25 from the United States to Australia during August 1942. The aircraft was nicknamed "The Happy Legend".

Mission History
Took off from Port Moresby on a mission to bomb Buna on December 5, 1942 when it was lost, crashing in the Myola area.

Wreckage
During the war, Australian forces found the crash in the Owen Stanley Mountains in February of 1943, near the Kokoda Gap. A large crater indicated that the aircraft must have exploded in the trees, and came to rest in a large, water filled crater. Bombs were still onboard. Wilson Pinkstaff’s remains were identified and Aubrey Atkin's identification tags were found. The Japanese ground forces were in the immediate area and the team had to terminate the search for additional remains of the crew.

Visits By American Recovery Teams
1) In July 1961, RAAF Searcher mission, with American military team members visited the site, but had to abandon any further search due to water in the crater.

2) This site was partially excavated by US Army CILHI in 1995, that resulted in an ID tag for Atkins being found.

3) During a 2002 mission, the CILHI team's objective was to attempt to complete the excavation. Preliminary field reports from the team indicate they were forced to suspend work at the site due to safety concerns. The team indicated the aircraft wreckage itself is in an unstable, precarious position and they also ran into live ordnance.

4) In March 2002, CILHI went back to the site and attempted to complete the recovery. During tile course of pumping out the crater, a 500 lb bomb, which was lodged in the side of the crater, began to shift. Attempts to reinforce the bomb were unsuccessful, and it began a slow descent to the center of the crater in the middle of the excavation area. After examination by the US EOD specialists and the PNG Defense Force EOD team, it was determined that the bomb was too unstable to move and the only alternative would be to blow it in place. Unfortunately, this would destroy whatever remained of the site. Due to safety concerns, the site was administratively closed on 15 March 2002 and the team relocated to another recovery site near Lae.

5) Another team revisited the site in late January - early March 2005 as part of the JPAC mission in Papua New Guinea & Fiji. They located more possible remains and personal effects including a personal ID bracelet.

Phil Maggart adds:
"I just researched my records and found out that there have been 11 visits to this site."

Memorials
The entire crew was declared dead on December 5, 1942 and all are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.

After the extensive recovery operations in New Guinea, JPAC positively identified their remains and notified family members during late September 2008. Atkins was buried at Salem Cemetery in Athens, Lousiana.

Relatives
Phil Maggart (brother of Charles Maggart):
"I just received official word [September 24, 2008] from the Defense Depart, Department of the Army, Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office--Mr. Lincoln Berry, that Lt. Charles L. Maggart, has been positively identified and that representatives from the Casual Office will be visiting soon to make final arrangements for internment. Sixty-six years I have been searching for closer, now it has finally happened."

Frankie Romero (great uncle) adds:
"My family recently received notice that the remains of my great uncle Antonio "Tony" Calderon were identified in the wreckage of the Happy Legend.  Tony was my grandmothers brother and I never knew him but heard stories of him as a boy that he had been an aerial gunner in WWII but was killed in action.  Never knowing exactly what happened to Tony was always a source of remorse for our family and I wish my grandmother would have lived to see this day, she missed Tony dearly."

References
The Searchers page 146. 
Interviews with brother Phil Maggart.
CILHI / JPAC mission updates via Mark A. Magalski (2002) and C. Willamson. 2004 & 2005 photos via JPAC / Major Nielson-Green
ABMC lists Atkins first name as 'Aub'
Thanks to Larry Hickey / IR&P for additional information

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009

B-25

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MIA

CILHI 2002 Mission

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2005 Mission

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Atkins Burial