WWII body found up tree

C

carman1877

New Member
Thats interesting. Maybe somehow it will help us solve some puzzles of WW2.
he could be a paratrooper who got stuck and was shot by germans. Theyll probaly do DNA tests if they can. Thanks for sharing thats a weird but interesting story.
 
D

dave_kiwi

New Member
Verified Defense Pro
carman1877 said:
Thats interesting. Maybe somehow it will help us solve some puzzles of WW2.
he could be a paratrooper who got stuck and was shot by germans. Theyll probaly do DNA tests if they can. Thanks for sharing thats a weird but interesting story.
Click to expand...
Ahhh - wrong theatre - actually wrong hemi-sphere altogether for Germans & paratroopers. This is PNG / Kokoda Trail - Japanese sphere my friend.

Interesting through - and it must have been one hell of a fight. I have been to the start of the Kokoda Trail on the Port Moresby side - and to say its rugged is a bit of an understatement.
 
Last edited:
J

John Sansom

New Member
Question really is: What assault drops were there in Papua New Guinea and/or what WWII airforce(s) MIAs in the area might account for the poor bloke's presence? Of course, if he's a Japanese casualty, he might well be a good deal harder to even attempt to identify. Finally, are we sure this isn't a bit of a smoke and mirrors job? As dave_kiwi can probably attest, that's pretty humid territory and hardly conducive to the preservation of anything, let alone a body and/or its parts. But, hey, who knows?
 
T

Topmaul

New Member
It would be awful hard for a body to stay in a tree for over 60 years. If it was a US Pilot with Nylon flight gear maybe, but cotton or other natural fibers would be long gone along with metal fasteners.
 
M

Marc 1

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
John Sansom said:
Question really is: What assault drops were there in Papua New Guinea and/or what WWII airforce(s) MIAs in the area might account for the poor bloke's presence? Of course, if he's a Japanese casualty, he might well be a good deal harder to even attempt to identify. Finally, are we sure this isn't a bit of a smoke and mirrors job? As dave_kiwi can probably attest, that's pretty humid territory and hardly conducive to the preservation of anything, let alone a body and/or its parts. But, hey, who knows?
Click to expand...
If you were thinking assult drops in terms of paratroopers, none (although I seem to recall 25 pounders and crews being dropped into somewhere (not just Nadzab)during the conflict. So, I'd be thinking aircrew - possibly of one of the biscuit bombers that used to drop supplies to the Aussie troops. Could have been American, Australian, Japanese, very remote chance he's dutch. Yes natural fibres rot but as has been pointed out nylon lines may have held up - there'd be bugger all sunlight to degrade the nylon because of the jungle canopy, and lets face it the poor bugger hanging in the tree would be fairly light by now (all flesh decayed or eaten), so the harness may have been sufficient to hold him all this time. It wouldn't surprise me at all, in Lae as a kid you could walk into nearly any patch odf jungle and find rusting helmets, rusting remnants of Arisaka rifles etc. PNG is littered with war relics.
 
C

Cooch

Active Member
Japanese snipers were known to strap themselves to trees or the top of coconut palms.... however the description in this article does not sound as though it was the case here.
 
Last edited:
J

John Sansom

New Member
Okay, Sabre, I tend to agree. The question is: What are we looking at here?
Perhaps the whole thing is a myth, the product of a lubricated imagination as it were. Ummm. And then again, perhaps not. If the latter, what are we talking about? It's the kind of thing that deserves exploring if only for personal satisfaction.

So....what materials (clothing) appear to have been involved? Was there a sidearm present or below the remains? Could this have been a civilian or Air America pilot...or even a holdover from the fities hoorah with Indonesia?

Finally, how do we get an update on identification efforts?
 
SABRE

SABRE

Super Moderator
Verified Defense Pro
John Sansom said:
Okay, Sabre, I tend to agree. The question is: What are we looking at here?
Perhaps the whole thing is a myth, the product of a lubricated imagination as it were. Ummm. And then again, perhaps not. If the latter, what are we talking about? It's the kind of thing that deserves exploring if only for personal satisfaction.

So....what materials (clothing) appear to have been involved? Was there a sidearm present or below the remains? Could this have been a civilian or Air America pilot...or even a holdover from the fities hoorah with Indonesia?

Finally, how do we get an update on identification efforts?
Click to expand...
Read the BBC link again. Not only it isn't WW-II body it isn't a body at all.

BBC said:
The suspected remains of a WWII airman discovered in a jungle region of Papua New Guinea have turned out to be the moss-covered branches of a tree.
Click to expand...
 
D

DefConGuru

New Member
They're probably right, from the photo it just looks like a bunch of moss, I really doubt that a body would be able to last in a jungle like that for 60 odd years.
 
J

John Sansom

New Member
Thanks, Sabre. Of coure, that begs the question....dare I ask?...how did a bunch of old tree limbs and moss learn to fly a plane? Sorry. Just thought I'd try to insert a smile into the matter...or, perhaps, a sigh of exasperation.
Time for this poor soul (me) to move on.
 
SABRE

SABRE

Super Moderator
Verified Defense Pro
John Sansom said:
Thanks, Sabre. Of coure, that begs the question....dare I ask?...how did a bunch of old tree limbs and moss learn to fly a plane? Sorry. Just thought I'd try to insert a smile into the matter...or, perhaps, a sigh of exasperation.
Time for this poor soul (me) to move on.
Click to expand...
Eh! Have a tea, relax. The news is a media hype as usual. Do you think a body can survive that long hanging on the trees? Birds, ants, & other animals/insects that can climb trees would make a feast out of it.

& where is his aircraft or parachute?

Plus; I heard there are still cannibal tribes in Papua New Guinea. They too might have smelled their dinner out. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top