Hot as Hell, Found in Paradise
It has been over 60 year wait for the family members, including Gary Zaetz, of the ill fated World War Two plane B-24 J nicknamed “Hot As hell.” On January 25, 1944, B-24 J “Hot As Hell” with a compliment of 8 crew members took off from Kunming, China for a routine flight to Chabua, India. The plane never reached its destination. The crews were declared dead on November 20, 1944. On 7 December 2006, a private American investigator, Mr. Clayton discovered the crash site in East Siang district, with the assistance of Abor villagers.
Gary Zaetz whose uncle, 1st Lt. Irwin G. Zaetz of the U.S. Army Air Force was in the crash, is a 53-year old computer programmer with 2 grown sons and 2 pre-teen daughters. His wife Gina, a part-time airline reservation agent, has been his partner in locating relatives and pushing for a recovery mission.
There are still four living siblings of the crew of the “Hot as Hell.” 83-year old Larry Zaetz (Gary Zaetz’s father), who’s the sole-surviving brother of the navigator, 1st Lt. Irwin Zaetz. Verna Chambers is 90-year old sister of the co-pilot, Flight Officer Sheldon Chambers. Virginia Swanson, the 92-year old sister of the pilot, Captain William Swanson, and Fred Oxford, the 90-year old brother of the bombardier, 1st. Lt. Robert Eugene Oxford. Relatives of the crew have been located all over the United States, including Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Relatives have even been found as far away as South Africa and Mozambique.
The crew of the plane as documented in the official Missing Air Crew Report submitted by Captain James E. Maher to the Headquarters, United States Army Air Forces, War Department, Washington, on January 26, 1944 are:
Pilot: 1st Lt. William A. Swanson, 0-728935
Co-Pilot: F/O Sheldon L. Chambers, T-291
Navigator: 1st Lt. Irwin Zaetz, 0-791661
Bombardier: 1st Lt. Robert E. Oxford, 0-663308
Engineer: S/Sgt. Charles D. Ginn, 15084114
Radio Op.: S/Sgt. Harry B. Queen, 11021096
Gunner: Sgt. James A. Hinson, 14188472
Gunner: Sgt. Alfred H. Gerrans, Jr., 34315848
Mission over “The Hump”
Allied Forces started to fly over “The Hump” in April 1942 to resupply the Flying Tigers and the Chiang Kai-shek led forces in China against the Japanese. The Japanese had blocked the Burma Road and the Allied planes were forced to fly over the eastern part of the Himalayan Ranges, nicknamed “The Hump,” to reach China from India. The Hump became critical to the China-Burma-India Theater. Flying over the Hump was not an easy task. As per US Air Force records “Heavily loaded transports began their runs to China after lifting off from hot, muggy airfields in India’s eastern jungles, then struggled upward for altitude to clear the towering Himalayas. A direct route to Kunming, China, took four hours, at an average altitude of about sixteen thou-sand feet, and placed aircraft over areas within range of Japanese fighters. The ATC crews characteristically flew a dogleg to the north to escape enemy airplanes, even though the path stretched fuel reserves to the limit and required an operational altitude of twenty thousand feet to clear most of the Himalayan peaks. Many fliers wound up threading their way through available mountain passes at sixteen thousand feet, with snow-covered ridges and pinnacles rising on either side of them. In addition to the changeable weather high over the Himalayas, pilots flew across virtually impenetrable jungles on both sides of the menacing mountain ranges.
Over the Indian jungles, in particular, fliers had to contend with monsoon rainstorms for six months of every year. Landing strips and runways became muddy quagmires; fliers and ground personnel existed in a swampy world of sodden bunks, clothes, and tents.”
U.S. Department of Defense release in 2004 mentions that more than 500 aircraft and 1,200 crewmembers are still missing in World War IIs China-Burma-India Theater of operations. It is believed that approximately 416 men remain missing in India from flying resupply missions over The Hump.
Locating the B24-J 42-73308
Clayton Kuhles who has a website MIARecoveries.org , has taken on the project of searching for as many of these Missing In Action (MIA) aircraft as he can find. So far he has located six planes which went missing over “The Hump.” The planes include B24-J 42-73308, C87 #3791, C46 #7294, C47 #224360, C47 #413 and C87 41-23696. Clayton when not digging for these aircrafts runs a successful real estate business back in US. Aiding in his recoveries is Oken Tayeng, who runs Abor Country Travels and Expeditions in the Indian eastern most state of Arunachal Pradesh. Says Oaken “the region is littered with these planes. The locals have seen these planes crash, but, it we do not have the expertise for identification of the planes. Clayton has taken up the initiative of identifying these planes.”
Identifying the planes is a real challenge. Says Clayton “ most of the time you can find bare skeletal parts since the villagers have already taken the aluminum for selling it as scrap.”
Clayton explains “My guide Oken Tayeng has relatives living in the Abor village of Damroh. He had heard through his relatives in Damroh about the existence of a WW II aircraft wreckage in the nearby hills. He relayed this info to me a couple years ago. It wasn’t until I reached the village of Damroh and interviewed the local hunters that I learned the precise location of the wreck and the time required to reach it. It often takes hours of talking and questioning to learn all the details. After lengthy discussions in Damroh, then we set off for the wrecksite. It took a 2-3 days of difficult jungle trekking to reach this site.
I learn of these wreck sites by first determining the likely crash areas from studying the old WW II flight maps, then I ask my guide service to put the word out that we’re looking for wreckages in this particular area, then slowly info starts to trickle in. Inevitably, local hunters will pass the word to my people about wrecks which they know about. If the wreckage can be easily reached from a nearby village, then most of the aluminum will probably have been hauled away years ago by salvagers. If the wreckage is remote and difficult to reach, then it will usually be intact. An aircraft ID and recovery of the crewmember remains may still be possible even if most of the aluminum wreckage has been hauled away by salvagers. The ID of the aircraft is important so the crewmembers can be identified. The ultimate recovery of crewmember remains is the goal. In the meantime, the families of the long-missing airmen will at least know of the discovery of the wreckage, and this in itself helps bring some closure to these families.”
In addition the military historian Matt Poole of Wheaton, Maryland confirmed the identity of the aircraft wreckage as the “Hot as Hell”.
Human Remains
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Archeological Site Report Form, as filled out by Clayton Kuhles on December 7, 2006, indicates that bones were seen at the site (by local villagers) and that those bones were still at the site.
In a June 2, 2007 letter to Larry Zaetz, Clayton Kuhles stated: ” I’m certain the remains of your brother 1st Lt Irwin Zaetz can be found at the crashsite. My hunter guide reported seeing numerous human bones at the site when he first visited the location three years ago during the summer months. When I was there, there was already a light covering of snow.”
What next?
After recovering, Clayton Kuhles forwarded the information Mr. Henry V. Jardine, United States Consul General, Kolkata, who in turn forwarded it to Defense Attache Office (DAO) at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. In November 2004, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs Jerry Jennings visited New Delhi to discuss with officials of the Indian Defence Ministry and the Minstry of External Affairs the recovery of American MIAs from Indian Territory.
On October 5 of this year, US Senator Bernard Sanders sent a letter to US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates that included the following information on the bomber’s last flight and the crashsite which says ““My office has been in contact with my constituent, Mr. Larry Zaetz, regarding his late brother, 1LT Irwin Zaetz (0-791661), a Vermonter lost during World War II when his plane crashed in Northeast India. That plane, B-24 “Hot as Hell” (Serial Number 42-73308, 308th Bomb Group, 425th Bomb Squadron), disappeared en route to Chabua, India, from Kunming, China in January 1944. Since that time, Lieutenant Zaetz has been listed by the Department of Defense’s Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) as ‘Service Personnel Not Recovered Following World War II.”
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Gary Zaetz says “there are eight American families who earnestly hope that the United States Government and the Government of India will quickly finalize an agreement that would allow the United States Defense Department to send a recovery team to the crashsite of the “Hot as Hell” in the very near future to recover the known remains of eight valiant American servicemen who died in the struggle against the Japanese Empire. I’m also hoping that the recovery in India of many more World War II MIAs from other missing American aircraft will follow as a consequence of this agreement. ”
On November 17, 2007, Gary sent a email to Sh. Jaswant Singh, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Jaswant Singh replied “A Member of Parliament, representing East Siang District in the Federal Parliament is from my party. I have discussed this matter in detail with him. He has assured me of full cooperation and assistance. He also confirms having heard of such rumours - of crashed aircraft/remains etc. from the villagers as these areas are part of his constituency;his name is Tapir Gao, MP. He himself knows the area fully and confirms village Damroh, the driving time to it from Pasighat is roughly 6 hours being mountainous territory;”
Early December, Gary received the following letter from the US Naval Attache in New Delhi, Captain Larry M. Gillis, USN, in response to a letter he mailed to US Defence Attache Col. Frank Rindone. The letter stated “Frank is away on official business and will respond to your email when he returns. I for one want to assure you this office is pursuing this matter with rigor. The repatriation of your uncle’s remains was on the agenda in a meeting with Indian government officials last week and will be a topic of January Defense Planning Group talks with the Indians in Washington DC. Having a father who served in the US Air Force in Korea and an uncle who served in the Army Air Corp in WWII I understand fully the importance of this matter and I promise you we will be aggressive and will achieve resolution.”
Oken Tayeng say’s “the initiative from the US government should have come long before. Everyone concerned in US and Indian government knows about it. But nothing happens!”
(S. Prasad is an independent writer based in Singapore. He writes on Defence and strategic issues and regularly contributes in Frontier India Defence and Strategic News Service.)
UPDATES
1.) IAF recce’s WW-II crashsite of U.S.A.F B-24 aircraft “Hot as Hell”
Indian Air Force Helicopter reconnaissance sorties have been carried out over the crash site of the ill fated US Air Force B-24 #42-73308 (”Hot as Hell”).
The same was officially conveyed by Air Commodore Rakesh Kumar Jolly, Air Attache, Embassy of India in US “The DPG has agreed on a path ahead to expeditiously progress the case further. A meeting is planned in Delhi in Mar 08. IAF has already done a helicopter recce. The area is presently covered with snow and forests. Attempt will be made in the period Apr-May to locate the site and recovery thereafter.”
2.) Admiral Timothy J. Keating, U.S. Navy, is Commander of the US Pacific Command (USPACOM), and is the top of the chain of command which includes the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). In his publicly released March 8, 2008 statement on “US Pacific Command Posture”, delivered to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (http://www.pacom.mil/speeches/sst2008/080311-keating-sasc.pdf), Admiral Keating made the following significant comment:
“JPAC has also received tentative approval to conduct a recovery mission in the People’s Republic of China and to engage Government of India officials regarding potential recovery missions in Northeast India.”
3.) U.S. and Indian Officials Discuss WWII Recovery Missions March 20, 2008
Officials of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) met today with representatives of the Indian government in New Delhi to lay the groundwork for future U.S.-Indian humanitarian operations in Arunachal Pradesh State.
During the meeting, the officials discussed a tentative timeline for future investigations and recoveries of aircraft crash sites associated with missing U.S. servicemen from World War II. In addition, they discussed cooperation in the areas of team security, medical support, logistical requirements and transportation.
JPAC officials will return to the region in the spring to discuss details of future operations with Ministry of Defense and Arunachal Pradesh officials. This will be followed by site visits in early fall to determine the scope of debris fields and evaluate unique logistical requirements associated with each site. This process sets the groundwork for future recovery teams by clearly defining the work that will be required to properly and efficiently excavate known aircraft crash locations.
The first full excavation mission should begin shortly after these site visits and is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
“This meeting is a significant step in a partnership that will enable our teams to go into areas where we hope to find remains of missing American service members,” said Rear Adm. Donna Crisp, JPAC commander.
4) Hot as Hell recovery operations from August 2008 April 12, 2008
5) Clayton Kuhles on April 11, 2008 was honored by the Governor of the state of ArIzona, Ms. Janet Napolitano, for his accomplishments in locating and identifying the aircraft of missing World War II American airmen. Clayton is a citizen of the State of Arizona.
6) Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Department of North Carolina on 14 June 2008 adopted a resolution
“WHEREAS, on 25 January 1944, a B-24J aircraft named “Hot As Hell” flew a resupply mission from Kunming, China to Chabua, India known as “The Hump”; and
WHEREAS, the crew of eight, 1LT William A. Swanson (VT), Flight Officer Sheldon L. Chambers (PA), 1LT Irwin G. Zaetz (VT), 1LT Robert E. Oxford (GA), SSG Charles D. Ginn (IL), SSG Harry B. Queen (MA), SGT James A. Hinson (NC), SGT Alfred H. Gerrans, Jr. (NC), did not arrive at their destination and were declared dead on 20 November 1944; and
WHEREAS, Clayton Kuhles is commended for finding the wreckage of the “Hot As Hell” on 7 December 2006, during a personal expedition to specifically research downed WWII aircraft in this area; and
WHEREAS, Larry Zaetz, brother of 1LT Irwin Zaetz, and Gary Zaetz of Cary, NC, nephew of 1LT Zaetz, have spent painstaking time researching and contacting family members of the “Hot As Hell” crew; and
WHEREAS, the “Hot As Hell” family led by Larry and Gary Zaetz have been the driving force between the governments of India and the United States renewing humanitarian efforts to recover remains of unaccounted for Americans from WWII; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States strongly supports the efforts of U.S. and Indian government officials in re-establishing humanitarian efforts for the recovery of the “Hot As Hell”; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we strongly urge the Congress to direct the Department of Defense to carry out this recovery mission as quickly as possible and to fully fund efforts to locate and return to U.S. soil all recoverable remains from this theater of operation.
[Frontier India Defence and Strategic News was the first online publication to publish the story. We are proud that the article brought tremendous results for the families of the survivors of "Hot As Hell" and this has also snowballed into wider movement for recoveries of MIA in India. We have decided to update this effort till it reaches to the final satisfaction of the families involved.
P. Chacko Joseph
Publisher]
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