The Asahi Shinbun "Recovery of the remains of the American fighter" May 20, 1988
The recovery of the remains of the pilot for American fighter in the end of WWII who were found in the ocean in Iriomote, Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa was begun at 10am on the 20th by the divers from the American military.
The airplane was found by the local divers, Shiro Ikema, 34 years old, and the photograph diving group of Asahi Shinbun last summer. It is in the bottom of ocean about 1km away from the north west of Sonai, and the human bones at the place which looks like the cockpit were also confirmed. This work this time was realized as the Consul General of the US Consul General of Okinawa, Richardson, reported this news of last year's newspaper and contacted his home country.
Two divers were from a team from the American Air Force in Hawaii which is in charge of recovering the American airplanes or human remains sunk in the ocean in different areas. Watching by Richardson, Consul General, and others on board, the divers dived into the water to start the search with a guide by Mr. Ikema. They dived to about 20m at a stretch. The visibility of the water was not clear for the sea of Okinawa, and as going down the sandy slope, a propeller about 2 meters long and a wing stuck in the sandy area appeared.
It is difficult to differentiate between bones and corals, so anything that looked like the bones was all recovered to the ship.
If the bones are confirmed, the memorial service is going to be held at the nearest beach from the site. The bones will be transported to the lab in Hawaii by the military airplane and tested to do the identification. And if it reveals the identity, it will be returned to the family members.
Credit: The Asahi Shinbun Date: May 20, 1988
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