Pilot History
Weldon earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart (posthumously).

Mission History
Last reported 10 miles south of But. Last seen at 1050 at 20,000 8-10 miles south of Boram, then was never seen again. It force landed in kunai at Urimo, behind Wewak. No trace or report of the pilot was ever found.

Memorials
Weldon was officially declared dead on January 16, 1945. He is listed on tablets of the missing on Manila National Cemetery.

Wreckage
Wreckage remains in a kunai field, including the outer wings, tail booms and burn out remains of the center gondola.

Keith Hopper adds:
"This Lightning was reported to by an expat living in Wewak to Richard Leahy, who over flew the site and located it. I visited it by helicopter in 1999, the pilot put down in a beautiful landing, the peto tube was still on the wing, and all the props still attached."

This crash site was investigated by US Army CILHI in 2000, believing the aircraft to be P-38J 42-67142. No remains of the pilot were found. It is speculated that the pilot survived the crash and burned the cockpit, but no trace of him was discovered in the vicinity of the crash.

Recovery
On June 12-13, 2003 this aircraft was recovered by Robert Jarrett / Classic Jets Museum, using the Robert Greinert / HARS salvage permit for PNG. Afterwards, the remains were in storage at the Classic Jets Museum. It is unknown what purpose these components will serve or be used, or if any restoration work was performed on the wreckage salvaged.

Reportedly, this P-38 was exported to the United States, and owned by Artemis Aviation Group LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. FAA registered as N66534 on November 17, 2008.

Offered For Sale
In January 2009, Courtesy Aircraft of Rockford, IL listed a "Lochkeed P-38H Lightning Project" for sale, with "documented combat history with the historic 475th Fighter Group". Mark Clark of Courtesy Aircraft confirmed this was indeed P-38H 42-66534 and the asking price is around $495,000 USD. No information is available if this aircraft was transferred to Courtesy or other details of any potential sale of the wreckage.

References
Courtesy Aircraft January 2009 "Lochkeed P-38H Lightning Project"
Thanks to Richard Leahy and Keith Hopper for additional information

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009

P-38

MIA