SAIPAN, CNMI (Saipan Tribune, Dec. 9) “Remnants of an aircraft believed to be an American fighter plane that was shot down over Pagan during World War II [F6F Hellcat 42136] has been found on the island, according to businessman-historian Kenneth Moore.
Moore, the chairman and chief executive officer of Azmar International, a mining company that had wanted to extract pozzolan [volcanic ash] deposits from Pagan, said yesterday that he has notified the Historic Preservation Office about the find.
"We found another missing World War II airplane," Moore said. "We believe that it's the aircraft flown by Lt. Roy Bechtol, who was reportedly gunned down by his Japanese counterparts on June 23, 1944."
Bechtol's body has never been found, according to Moore. He said he learned more about Bechtol's fate when he met with war veteran and Navy Cross medallist Rudy Matz in a recent meeting of members of the Fighter Pilots Association in San Diego, California.
Matz reportedly recounted that he was flying another fighter plane above that of Bechtol near Pagan when the latter's plane went down.
Moore said he has registered the discovery with the Joint Prisoners of War-Missing in Action Accounting Command [JPAC] in Honolulu, Hawaii by contacting Tom Holland, head of the command's J2 Intelligence Division. He said members of the military's forensic laboratory would soon go to Pagan to confirm his discovery.
Moore, who is based in Arizona, said he found his way to the CNMI to find the fighter plane of his uncle, Lt. William Webber, who also perished during the war. The plane and his uncle's remains have yet to be found after his 27 years of looking for them, Moore said.
Since then, Moore said he became interested in finding World War II artifacts and missing American servicemen.
"Over the years, I've collected thousands of documents about World War II and I'd like to work closely with HPO and federal authorities who I've worked with in the past to continue to find lost WWII servicemen."
Moore clarified that he would simply take photographs of any find and turn it over to authorities-and not collect it.
"We hope to continue to do more explorations in the future."
During the controversy on Azmar's bid to extract pozzolan from Pagan last year, allegations cropped up that Moore had wanted to claim sole ownership of any artifacts that might be found at the site, which he denied.
The allegations stemmed from an unsigned draft employment contract allegedly belonging to Azmar. The draft contract seeks to strictly prohibit any employee from disclosing any information on artifacts may be discovered at the mining site, with the company claiming sole ownership of any find.
Azmar's bid to extract pozzolan deposits on Pagan failed to materialize, amid strong opposition from Northern Islands residents and some government officials.
Diminished interest in pozzolan extraction
Moore disclosed that he made the discovery in a recent 10-day trip to Pagan, which he personally funded.
"I really have no interest at all in the pozzolan anymore," Moore said. "I was fulfilling a personal obligation for a close friend [Matz] and the Bechtol family."
He said, however, that the Azmar mechanism remains in place, even though his company has not been actively pursuing the pozzolan extraction project.
Pozzolan, which is only found in few places around the world, may be used as a component to manufacture high-grade cement. Tons of pozzolan deposits have laid on Pagan's grounds following a volcanic eruption on that island in the early 1990s. Extraction of the pozzolan deposits potentially generates millions of dollars in revenue for business and government revenue.
Moore added, however, that he recently met with governor-elect Benigno Fitial and assured his government that he would be willing to extend any support on whatever decision the incoming administration might take regarding the pozzolan deposits.
He assured that, should Azmar bid anew to extract pozzolan from Pagan, his company would comply with all of the CNMI's legal requirements.
Extraction of pozzolan should be undertaken with an environmental consultant, calling the mineral as an "ecological gift of God."
"It's amazingly beautiful. It needs to be protected," Moore said.
