PACIFIC  WRECK  DATABASE
Wreck News & Updates - May 2005
Thank you for your visit or support of the Pacific Wreck Database website. Feel   free to forward this message to a friend or WWII veteran who might be interested   in the site. If you no longer wish to receive this email update, see the unsubscribe   information at the end. To view an online version of this update, go to www.pacificwrecks.com

--------------------------------------------------------
1. UPCOMING EVENTS
-------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to a new update.  I am proud to announce a new database project by Daniel Leahy called PacALD, Plus the return of a US Army dog tag, explorations and history from several old and new collaborators.  Also, join us for two upcoming events:

Planes of Fame Airshow, Chino, CA
Los Angeles area, join us this weekend - May 21-22.  This year's show will feature five P-47s flying, and both A6M5 and A6M3 Zeros again. Our third year at the show, join Bruce Fenstermaker and I at the show.  Stop by and say hello at our booth near the modern F-18 and A-10.

Mid-Atantic Air Museum
Philadelphia area, June 3-5.  The best east coast airshow!
Join us at the Ghost Wings Magazine booth in the hanger.

Yours in history,

Justin Taylan
email - justin@wanpela.com
PacifcWrecks.com | PacificGhosts.com

-------------------------------------------------------
2.  New Database Technology - PacALD
--------------------------------------------------------
by Daniel Leahy

For about two years I've been working on a massive interactive database on all aircraft lost in the war in the Pacific between 1941 and 1945. This has become known as PacALD (Pacific Aircraft Loss Database)

This is a large online project with contributors from all over the world and details losses from all countries - USA, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands East Indies, Britain, China, and more... To date over 2000 aircraft losses are listed, with over 3500 individual personnel (pilots, crew members, passengers etc). The database has been set up for two reasons: Helping locate aircraft and crew members still missing from the Second World War in the Pacific, and inform relatives, friends and other researchers of the details of their servicemen's loss.

The idea for this database came while studying for my Information Technology degree between 2000 and 2003. For those technically minded people, it is written in Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) language, accessing a Microsoft Access Database. It will be setup on its own standalone server - which is currently being configured - and made available worldwide on a high-speed Internet connection.

Users are able to search for losses either by aircraft (serial, unit, service, location etc) or crew member (name, service, service number etc). Each record will include all known information which has been obtained from numerous official, and unofficial sources.

Photos of each aircraft, wreck, crew member, or related item will be displayed wherever possible. The system also has the ability of a reading room, where official records such as Courts of Inquiry or Missing Aircrew Reports would be available in Adobe Acrobat format. Such an enormous task requires help from numerous individuals and organizations. We are currently looking for people who could possibly help with information and details on aircraft losses; official documents such as Missing Aircrew Reports (MACRs); or even written support for such a project. All contributors will be recognized on the website.

-------------------------------------------------------
3.  EXPLORATIONS
--------------------------------------------------------

Iwo Jima 60th Anniversary
by Harlan Glenn
Of all the Pacific War battlefields, Iwo Jima has to be the most significant and at the same time-the hardest to get to. While it holds the same type of meaning to Americans as Gettysburg, Iwo Jima is not a place that you can hop in the car and make a road trip to. Iwo Jima is in the middle of nowhere and due to an agreement between the American and Japanese government, we and the Japanese can only return but once a year to visit and remember those who fought and died there some 60 years ago.

Dogtag, Sunglasses & Insignias - Returned to Family!
A dogtag, sun glasses, and insignia of a US Army pilot named 'Hustad' were discovered by Henry Mayer, while combing the hills around Port Moresby.  They appeared in his interview on PacificWrecks... thur an amazing turn of events, these tags were identified and returned to the family members in the United States.  This story reveals the power of the Internet, readership of this website, and a lucky turn of fate for these small but significant pieces of history.

Explorations on Goodenough Island, off New Guinea
by Charles Page
While researching history about the RAAF 22 Squadron, Charles visited their former airfield at Vivigani, and the wreckage of several Beaufort bombers, and sites around the former RAAF and USAAF airfield complex.

--------------------------------------------------------
4. HISTORY
-------------------------------------------------------

Hansa Bay Japanese Army Air Force History
by Richard Dunn
Little has ever been published in English about the Japanese base at Hansa Bay on the north coast of New Guinea. Dunn presents new research about the construction of the strip and its operations by the Japanese Army AIr Force.

The Forgotten Air War of Malaya
by Goh K. Loon
Little has ever been published in English about the Japanese base at Hansa Bay on the north coast of New Guinea. Dunn presents new research about the construction of the strip and its operations by the Japanese Army AIr Force.

-------------------------------------------------------
5.  REVIEWS - Pacific WWII Related Books
--------------------------------------------------------
View all WWII Pacific Book, Magazine and Video Reviews a comprehensive source for all the best Pacific related references and reading. Have a book related to WWII Pacific to recommend? Write a review and add it to the archive. This month's update focuses on new DVDs and multimedia releases.

Island Encounters
by Lamont Lindstrom & Geoffrey White.This book is illustrated with dozens of photographs from WWII, depicting Pacific Islanders.  Drawing from a variety of collections in Australia, Japan and the United States the authors present a series of interesting photographers rarely, and in most cases never seen before by the average reader.

Danien Parer's War
Review by Daniel Leahy. Any researcher of the Second World War in the Pacific, particularly the war in New Guinea, would know the footage showing a blinded Australian militiaman being helped across a river by one of his mates. Often mistakenly listed as being filmed on the Kokoda Trail, the footage was actually shot in the Salamaua region by wartime cameraman Damien Parer.

-------------------------------------------------------
6.  Pacific WWII - Links of the Month
--------------------------------------------------------
Great links related to WWII Pacific, submitted by users of the Pacific Wreck Database site. Do you know of a good Pacific related website? Email the URL for inclusion in our comprehensive list of links!

# # # End of Wreck News May 18, 2005 # # #

This is an independent & unsponsored site, that grows with audience participation.  
Donations, Submissions and New Information help the site to grow.

--------------------------------------------------------

To UNSUBSCRIBE to this Wreck News email list, forward this email to
justin@wanpela.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

To SUBSCRIBE to the Wreck News email list, send an email to
justin@wanpela.com and type SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

--
Pacific Wreck Database
www.pacificwrecks.com
Pacific Wreck Database, P.O. Box 859, Hyde Park, NY 12538  USA