Though I Walk Through The Valley

Though I Walk Through The Valley U

Aiyura Valley During World War Two

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By Charles Micheals

This book is provided free of charge. However, if you would like to make a gift to the ongoing work of the author and his work with Wycliffe Bible Translators and help cover the cost of producing this book and others like it, please go to: Supporting Charles and Barbara Micheals' Work With Wycliffe Bible Translators

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© 2011 Charles J. Micheals Published by the Aiyura Valley Historical Society

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: Pending

First Printing 2011 (Not for Sale)

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2|Page

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Though I Walk Through The Valley Aiyura Valley During World War Two

1956 - Aiyura Valley (Photo courtesy of Ivan Schindler)

Winter Park, Florida

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Dedication To the military men and women who have given their lives to defend the freedom of Papua New Guinea.

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Though I Walk Through The Valley Aiyura Valley During World War Two “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:8)

Among the most difficult decision for any leader of a nation to make is the decision to send its young men into war. Yet, there comes a time when in the course of human events the aggression of one nation or people needs to be confronted. The Bible speaks of such decisions in Romans 13: 4, “For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.” Governments bear the sword not to kill for its own sake, but to restore peace and to punish the wrongdoer.

As necessary as war is at times, the Bible in Matthew 10: 34 also reminds us of this fact, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” As surely as there is a time for war, there is also a time for peace and every just war must have as one of its aims to bring peace. This was true for the fighting that was to happen in Aiyura Valley in World War II.

The war in the valley was eventually brought to a peaceful conclusion. However, the scars it left are still visible today in families who lost loved ones (including the many Papua New Guineans who risked life and limb during the war) and in the lives of the veterans who are still alive who bear the scars of battle in body and mind. Dotted around the countryside are also many war relics, many of which are found in the places where they were abandoned after the war. While these relics are less visible today in Aiyura Valley than they were in years past, they can be seen upon careful observance as pointed out later in this book.

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The island of New Guinea and Aiyura Valley in particular had war thrust upon it not by the designs of the people who inhabited the country, but by several much larger nations who saw the aggression on their own country by the Japanese. They needed the island of New Guinea as part of their island hopping strategy to achieve victory over the Japanese who had attacked the United States on December 7, 1941 and threatened the peace in other Allied nations. However, the battle in New Guinea was not fought just for that reason. It was also waged to bring freedom to the two territories of Papua and New Guinea who were then governed by Australia. The territories had fallen under the tyranny of the Japanese after the town of Rabaul on the smaller island of New Britain had been invaded by the Japanese in January 1942, and it was the invasion of Rabaul that eventually brought Aiyura Valley into the war less than five months later.

The victory that was eventually won on the island not only brought freedom for the people who had been living under Japanese domination in the two territories, but allowed for the return of the missionaries and the resumption of the work of spreading the Gospel. The coastal areas had partially been evangelized before the war by missionaries from Germany, England and Australia and missionary work had just began in the interior by Lutheran missionaries. However, that work was brought to a standstill during the war. Due to the victory of the Allies, the work of the protestant church after the war grew and prospered throughout the territories.

In Aiyura Valley, which this book is written about, there were no Christian churches before the war. The Gospel really had only penetrated the smallest portion of the valley. There were just a handful of believers in the valley and they were mostly among the small number of the agricultural expatriate work force. However, today there are seventeen Protestant churches in Aiyura Valley and thousands of New Guinean believers and in the highlands of Papua New Guinea today there are over 10,000 protestant churches.

While a future book needs to written about the growth of the church in Aiyura Valley, this book is written to give tribute to the men who fought so bravely to secure all the freedoms experienced by those who have lived or are yet to live in Aiyura Valley. There are a number of people who participated in the freedom of valley, such as the Roman Catholic Priest, Father John Glover1. However, this book details the efforts of

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Angel of Mercy: Catholic Priest, Daring Pilot and Hero of Kainantu During World War II: http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/father_john_glover

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the men who fought in the American and Australian military forces (including a number of New Guineans), to secure the freedom of Aiyura Valley.

A special word of thanks goes to my wife Barb for her patience with me during the time it took to collect material and to write this book. She encouraged me to keep working on this project and gave advice on many practical things. She also helped with editing and proofreading. Without her help, this work would not have been completed. Many others also helped with various remembrances for which I am grateful.

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Chapter 1 Early History Of Aiyura Valley Of all the valleys in the rugged island of New Guinea, few would have as immense an impact as the Aiyura Valley in the country now known as Papua New Guinea. Nestled in the Central Range or Central Cordillera mountains of the New Guinea Highlands, the Bae River and Aiyura Valley supported a number of small agricultural communities speaking many distinct languages. Located far from the north coast and unknown to the outside world, this valley would take on significance during World War II that would affect the entire course of the war effort.

Early exploration of the valley took place in the 1920s and 30s by Australian Patrol Officers. On these patrols from the nearly small European settlement known in the 1930s as the Upper Ramu Patrol Post or Kainantu today, the Patrol Officer met the Gadsup and Tairora people. It is impossible to know how long these people had lived in the area, but long enough to make enemies of each other. However, the Patrol Officers worked hard to pacify the people and they were so successful commerce soon began in the valley.

Aiyura Valley is a situated at 5,300 feet elevation and has a Tropical Highlands climate. Warm days, cool nights, abundant rain and suitable soil for vegetation plus the Bae River snaking through the valley made this valley a prime location for agricultural study and sufficient to support the small groups of Gadsup and Tairora people living near the valley.

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Aiyura Valley in the early 1950s (Photo courtesy of the Australian War Memorial)

The Highlands of New Guinea was little noted before World War I. However, the world took real notice when in 1933, the Leahy brothers explored the Wahgi valley in the Western Highlands and discovered more than a million people living without any knowledge of the outside world. Until that time, the rest of the world had thought that the Highlands of the country was uninhabited.

Around this same time the world was also beginning to learn about the Upper Ramu portion of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea where the Aiyura Valley and Ukarumpa are located. There, in 1936, the Australian government started the “Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station� (today known as the National Agricultural Research Institute), headed up by Mr. Bill Brechin, an Australian agriculturist, who pioneered trials of tree crops for suitability for Highlands plantings at Aiyura.

In May of 1936, Mr. Bill Brechin walked the fertile land in the Upper Ramu area near the Yonki Valley (where the current water catchment area is for the Yonki Hydro Dam) and the adjacent Norikori Valley. He

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eventually chose the Aiyura valley area to settle in and to establish a research station. In the same year, he planted Cinchona and tea. The tea grown could not stand the climate and withered away. However, the Cinchona plantings did grow well to warrant a planting of more than 10,000 seedlings. In August 1936, coffee was also planted and Bill found immediately that the coffee plantings did very well. From such innocent beginnings, the coffee industry has burgeoned into the multi-million kina industry today.

Aiyura Airstrip construction, circa 1937 (Photo courtesy of Pacific Wrecks.com)

In April 1937, Mr. Brechin started clearing the site at Aiyura for an airstrip and also cleared more land for coffee plantings and Cinchona seedlings to be ready for the September rains. In April 1938, he employed 18 laborers from the Markham valley and 20 casual laborers from Bena Bena with additional casual help being sought from the local villages and 12 men from Akuna, in the Aiyura area. In July 1938, he employed 10 men from Markham, 43 casual workers from Bena Bena and a further 50 from Ramu in the Madang Province and thus the first “plantation� was established in the Highlands of PNG.

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Cinchona Seedlings Turn To Mature Trees - Aiyura Valley in 1946 (Photo courtesy of the Australian War Memorial)

When World War II broke out, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander For the Allied Powers, continued the experimenting at the agricultural station with the growing of the Cinchona tree for the ultimate production of the raw material from which Quinine for treatment of malaria is derived. By early 1942, the airfield at Aiyura grew in importance. The airfield at Kainantu caught the eye of the Japanese and was under surveillance as was the Aiyura airstrip. However, the airstrip at Aiyura was a challenging one with hills and trees at both ends while the Kainantu airstrip was suitable for larger military aircraft.

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1953 - Kainantu Airstrip (Photo courtesy of Harry West via Ex Kiap.net)

Both airstrips became important during the war and assisted in the evacuation of the missionaries located in the area. The airstrips at Kainantu and Aiyura became landing strips for allied aircraft and allowed for surveillance of the highlands and served as a staging base for flights to the northern coast.

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Chapter 2 World War II Arrives In Aiyura Valley The events of May 16, 1942 would land Aiyura Valley in the history books of World War II for this was the day Lieutenant (Lt.) John D. Feltham and his crew in a B-25C Mitchell Bomber (Serial Number 41-12478) crashed during landing at the Aiyura airstrip. The morning started out for Lt. Feltham, co-pilot Second Lt. Hugh L. Turk and crew members Sargent Dutrow, Sargent Omar N. Ferguson, Corporal H. S. Taylor and Staff Sargent P.R. Ervin as a regularly scheduled bombing day. The crew flew to Lae in the morning for a bombing raid on the Japanese stronghold situated there. After finishing a successful bombing mission they returned to Port Moresby to refuel for an afternoon raid on Lae.

Lt. John D. “Dave� Feltham (First man in second row L to R) (Photo courtesy Thomas Gerrity, Jr.)

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The airstrip and town of Lae (Photo courtesy of the Robert G. Ruegg Family)

The town of Lae with the airstrip circled

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B-25C Bomber Crashes At The Aiyura Airstrip On their return to Lae for a second bombing mission in the afternoon they found the target completely overcast. However, Lt. Feltham and crew were able to bomb the Lae airdrome and the general area from only 2,400 feet elevation. While they encounter intense land based anti-aircraft fire, there was no interception by Japanese aircraft due to the weather. Therefore, Lt. Feltham left the formation to strafe a seaplane base near the coastal village of Salamaua where the Japanese had also built up a significant troop garrison and ocean port. However, on the return flight to Port Moresby, Lt. Feltham became disoriented in the overcast weather.

1943 B 24 over Salamaua (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Salamaua battlefield (Photo courtesy of Hells Battlefield)

Just as they were about to run out of gas, his crew spotted the Aiyura Valley airstrip and they decided to set down on the airstrip. During landing the nose wheel hit a hole and buckled resulting in much of the nose section being destroyed, but the crew escaped any serious injuries. The crew was initially reported as missing back at the military base in Port Moresby.

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Lt. Feltham’s B-25C Aircraft (Photos courtesy of Pacific Wrecks)

Captain Floyd W. Rogers

On May 20, 1942 Captain Floyd (Buck) W. Rogers, Commanding Officer of the 8th Squadron 3rd Bombardment Group was flying to Wau in an A-24 Dive Bomber when he became lost in bad weather and just happened to fly over Aiyura where he spotted Feltham's B-25C. He landed and talked with Feltham before flying on to Wau. Soon after his return to Port Moresby, Rogers was ordered to take three A-24s to Aiyura to rescue Feltham's crew.

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Three A-24s (Serial Numbers 41-157832, 41-158203 and 41-158224) from the 27th Bombardment Group attempted a rescue at Aiyura on May 24, 1942. However, two of the A-24 airplanes crashed while attempting to land. Captain Rogers crashed due to engine failure when attempting to land at Aiyura. Upon seeing the crash at Aiyura, Lt. Oliver (Ollie) C. Doan decided to land at Kainantu, but he too crashed after his plane nosed up. The third A-24 plane, piloted by Second Lt. James T. Holcomb landed safely at Aiyura. However, it crashed the following morning on takeoff, flipping over and killing the Second Lt. Holcomb and wounding Captain Rogers in the gunner’s seat. In all, now nine Americans were stranded in Aiyura.

Officers of the 16th Squadron aboard the President Coolidge, November 1, 1941. Second Lt. Oliver C. Doan – Front Row (Second man L to R) (Photo courtesy of Jay B. Harrelson)

2 Aircraft History - Built by Douglas and assigned to the US Army at Savannah, GA on October 21, 1941. Next to PHAD on November

2, 1941. Assigned to Project "X" on January 2, 1942, Disassembled on January 8, 1942 transported with the Pensacola Convoy to Brisbane, Australia. Reassembled and assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Group, 8th Bombardment Squadron. No known nose art or nickname. 3 Aircraft History - Built by Douglas and assigned to the US Army at Savannah, GA on October 21, 1941. Next to McCellan on January 7, 1942 to "X" January 29, 1942. Assigned to Project "X" on January 2, 1942, Disassembled on January 8, 1942 transported overseas to Australia. Reassembled and assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Group, 8th Bombardment Squadron. No known nose art or nickname. It was assigned to pilot Farr. 4 Aircraft History - Built by Douglas and assigned to the US Army at Savannah, GA on October 21, 1941. Next to McCellan on January 7, 1942 to "X" January 29, 1942. Assigned to Project "X" on January 2, 1942, Disassembled on January 8, 1942 transported overseas to Australia. Reassembled and assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Group, 8th Bombardment Squadron. No known nose art or nickname.

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Soon, the stranded group of Allies in Aiyura Valley would have an unexpected group of Australians join their garrison, by God’s providence, from a most usual location. Lieutenant Ben Dawson and two other Australian intelligence officers (Herbert John ‘Jack’ Holmfield - Lance Bombardier and Morris McLaren Flight Sergeant) had spent the better part of five months in difficult and dangerous sea and land travel, looking for a way to return to Port Moresby. These were men from the 2/22nd Infantry Battalion who were a part of the 23rd Infantry Brigade, 8th Division, 2nd Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) ‘Lark Force’ who had escaped the Japanese invasion of Rabaul in early January 1942.

1942 - B25 C Mitchell Bomber in flight near Inglewood, California (Photo courtesy of Mark Sherwood)

Lt. Ben Dawson and his fellow intelligence officers were station in Rabaul on the northern tip of the island of New Britain when the Japanese landed with an overwhelming force on January 22-23, 1942. The ‘Lark Force’, tasked with the defense of Rabaul, was poorly supplied with armament and had a very small garrison of men to defend such a large and important town. Therefore, it was a surprise to none of the

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men stationed there that Rabaul would quickly fall. Shortly after the Japanese landing, Rabaul and the surrounding area was abandoned by the Australians after a brief scrimmage.

Retreating to the south of the New Britain Island, Lt. Dawson and his fellow soldiers continued to engage the Japanese while travelling south. However, the superior numbers of the Japanese fighting force and limited armament of the Australians drove the Australians further into the center of the island.

In the ensuing days, hundreds of Australians were captured and many were executed upon capture, although being assured by the Japanese of their human treatment as prisoners of war. After a brutal massacre of more than a hundred twenty five captured Australians at Tol Plantation, most remaining Australians soldiers who heard of the brutality looked for opportunities to escape to the main island of New Guinea. Lt. Dawson and his men were no different and soon looked for their opportunity to escape.

Dawson and men trekked over the Baining Mountains and eventually found their way to Cape Orford, located on the southeast coast or roughly 80 miles south of Rabaul. There they linked up with Lieutenant Peter E. Figgis and five other men and learned that a rescue of the Australians was being planned from the village of Pondo on the northwest coast, or a forty mile walk away. Soon, Lt. Dawson and company were on their way to Pondo, but when rescue did not arrive they continued their walk on the north coast down to Iboki, near Cape Gloucester. From there they travelled to the nearby Vitu Islands and eventually to Unea Island where they were picked up by “Blue� Harris in the schooner Umboi.

Harris wanted to take Dawson and men to Port Moresby, but the recent battle of the Coral Sea prompted Harris to take the men to Bogadjim, just south of the town of Madang. There, they met up with Lieutenant Reginald H. Boyan of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU).

Lt. Boyan took them on an excursion through the Ramu Valley and over the rugged Bismarck Mountains and eventually to Aiyura Valley. There they hooked up with Lt. Holcomb and the other men who had crashed their aircraft.

Feltham and the rest of the men spent the next couple of weeks continuing to explore Aiyura Valley while waiting on a rescue. Feltham and his crew also spent the time repairing an abandon 1925 Spartan biplane and made a successful test flight. 24 | P a g e

Lt. ’Jerry’ Pentland and the De Havilland Dragon Rapide Biplane

Finally, on June 18, 1942 Lt. Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley ‘Jerry’ Pentland from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and World War I Australian Air Ace arrived at Aiyura in a De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane and flew Rogers out stopping at Karina/ Kerema (located on the coast 100 miles from Port Moresby) before reaching Port Moresby. Jerry told the rest of the crew members that a rescue attempt from the Aiyura airstrip was not possible and that they would have to walk to Bena Bena, (twenty five miles across the Ramu Valley) to where there was a better airstrip. That same day Feltham attempted to fly the repaired Spartan airplane to the Bena Bena airfield along with Bill Brechin from the agricultural station. They took off late in the afternoon, but crashed near Finintegu village. Finintegu is about 18 miles away from Aiyura and was the location of a small government station. It was about a 10 hour walk away from the Bena Bena airstrip. In the crash Feltham broke both of his legs and was trapped in the wreckage and Bill was killed. Bill was initially buried at the Agricultural Station at Aiyura, but was eventually reburied at the Lae War Cemetery. Feltham was found later by members of his crew and several Australians who splinted his legs, made a stretcher and carried him to Bena Bena. 25 | P a g e

Finintegu Airstrip seen in the distance just behind the bend in the Kamamuntina River (Photo courtesy of Ross Johnson)

The remaining airmen and infantry men at Aiyura soon walked to Bena Bena to be rescued. They carried with them 140 gallons of petrol from the crashed aircraft and were accompanied with a team of local New Guineans and a Police Boy plus a number of New Guinea meris (women) who carried the petrol. The New Guineans were rewarded with Mercurochrome, a topical antiseptic used for minor cuts and scrapes. It was readily available in most countries, but no longer sold in most places because of its mercury content.

Several days later Lt. Pentland arrived at Bena Bena and took two plane loads of men Port Moresby. However, after the second plane load, a decision was reached by the RAAF to only fly out Americans as ANGAU was responsible for the return of Australians. Thus, Lt. Dawson and the rest of the Australians left at Bena Bena were made to walk for 26 days to Wau. Eventually, on July 15, 1942, they were flown from Wau back to Port Moresby. Roy McGregor, a recruiter for a passion fruit plantation who happened to be in Aiyura at the time oversaw the trip to Wau. The remaining Americans were rescued from Bena Bena by Lt. Pentland.

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Eventually three mechanics were sent by the Allies in Port Moresby to Aiyura to see if any of the A-24's could be repaired and flown out. They decided that they were beyond repair and the planes were all stripped of useable components (likely the instruments and armament). After the decision was made to strip the aircraft a garrison of Australian troops were assigned and remained stationed in the valley to protect and secure the airstrip and the important research being done at the Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station. However, the Japanese continued their interest in Aiyura Valley and came within a two hours’ march of the research facility.

(Photo courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald – November 7, 1983)

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Aiyura Valley Map (Photo courtesy of Alex Vincent)

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Chapter 3 The Aiyura Airfield Is Upgraded General George C. Kenney, Commander of the Fifth Air Force, U.S.A, and in charge of air support in the Highlands region began to become concerned that the Bena Bena airstrip in the Highlands which had recently been upgraded to accept fighter aircraft might come under attack by the Japanese. In order to divert the Japanese from the Bena Bena airstrip, General Kenney ordered the upgrading of the Aiyura airstrip hoping the Japanese would become interested.

(Photo courtesy of United States Army in World War II - The War in the Pacific – Ibibilo.com)

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The diversion worked and on June 1, 2 and 5, 1943 the Japanese flew reconnaissance plane over the Aiyura airstrip. On June 8 the Japanese returned to the Highlands and attacked the Kainantu airstrip with eight Japanese bombers. Further reconnaissance of the area took place on June 9 and 10 and then the Kainantu airstrip and town was strafed again on June 14, 1943.

1946 - Aubrey Schindler and local Kiap in Aiyura Valley (Photo courtesy of Ivan Schindler)

As interested as the Japanese were in Kainantu, they continued their pursuit of Aiyura and on June 15, 1943 they bombed the Aiyura airstrip with six bombers and six fighter aircraft. However, the Japanese were not yet done with the valley.

The assault on the Kainantu and Aiyura Valley continued in the month of September as the Imperial Japanese Army fought against a rapidly deteriorating situation. On September 3, 1943 a special commando group from the infamous Nakano School in Japan, which specialized in training for guerilla warfare, assembled in the Madang region of New Guinea with plans to move to the highlands area. They were known as the Saito Special Volunteer Corps, which was the backbone of the Japanese’s Eighteenth Army group.

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1965 - “Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station” located at the left and right side at the far end of the Aiyura Airstrip. Professor Schindler's school in the foreground. (Photo courtesy of David Carne)

After finishing their special training, the group led by Lt. Saito Shunji and Lt. Nakamori Shigeki and Lt. Komato Yazo left Madang, each with three squads and with 15 Taiwanese men in each squad. In all, 135 men who were raised in the jungles of Taiwan and born to be fighters and renowned for their stamina and hunting skills, set off to fight the Australians. Their mission was to march to Kainantu and the surrounding area, gather intelligence, win the hearts and minds of the New Guinea highlander and attack the Australian camps.

They arrived in the Kainantu area toward the middle of September and first scouted the area. Then on September 22, 1943 an elite task force comprised of four groups of three men each set off for their first battle. Their destination was an Australian camp which lay in the highland hills on the outskirts of the mile high small town of Kainantu. The camp housed approximately 300 Australian soldiers with the men living in officer’s barracks and several huts located on both sides of a bush track.

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soldier carried with them a bomb, consisting of five kilograms of explosives, four grenades and two incendiary devices. This bomb, developed by the Noborito Research Institute in Japan, produced heat over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and would quickly kill enemy soldiers and destroy surrounding materials.

The plan was for Yamada to attack first from the right side of the camp and for Yamada to set off an explosion at the command tent which would signal the others to attack. After the two leaders had a ritual drink, they crept forward with their men. As they moved stealthfully forward in the cool of the evening they could see the Australians sitting by their fires and the native huts built on stilts with heaps of arms and ammunition underneath the houses. All remained quiet until Yamada’s bomb exploded in the camp. Then Tanaka tossed his bomb near a house with a large supply of ammunition. The entire camp shook as the house and ammunition exploded setting not only the one bush house quickly on fire, but creating fires and explosions in the other homes.

Australians in the Upper Ramu area (Photo courtesy of the Australian War Memorial)

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The Australians, taken by complete surprise, arose and began to shoot wildly into the dark. The Japanese regrouped and stormed into the camp shooting at anything that moved. Then quickly the elite Japanese solders moved on after having destroyed two barracks, eleven native huts, three trench mortars, 300 shells and killing more than sixty soldier and wounding another eighty. The Japanese suffered no casualties.

Not only had the attack been successful in terms of destruction, but the Japanese were also able to haul off a number of machine guns, automatic weapons, five thousand rounds of ammunition and a hundred hand grenades. Their only disappointment in the attack was that they destroyed the Australian rations.

Tairora village of Nori Kori located in Aiyura Valley (Photo courtesy of David Carne)

Lt. Saito’s elite group continued to attack nearby villages well into October and had similar success. On one occasion they killed or wounded 300 Australian soldiers, again with no casualties to the Japanese troops. In all, Saito’s unit conducted over 60 raids on Allied positions ranging from the Kainantu and Aiyura Valley area to the Ramu Valley. They were eventually driven out of the area by the Allies from Goroka and

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Bena Bena as they pushed their way toward Nadzab and Lae where the Japanese were finally prevented an easy land route back into the Highlands.

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Chapter 4 The Fighting In Aiyura Is Finished This was the last touch of World War II in Aiyura Valley because by September the Allies had also landed at Nadzab on their march to retake Lae. However, the Japanese never made it on foot to Aiyura. Had they fully known that the Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station was the only station producing Quinine for Australia and its territories and continued their trek and doubled their efforts, the outcome of World War II may have been significantly altered.

It was discovered after the war that the Japanese had intended to seize the airstrips in the Highlands region and occupy the entire regions from Kainantu to Chimbu located further into the Highlands. However, war historians conclude that if that had happened the results for the Japanese would have been as disastrous as their move to occupy Wau when over 1,200 Japanese were killed in battle due to their inability to re-enforce their troops and the challenges of daily rain and mountainous terrain. ____________________ * Lt. John D. "Dave" Feltham was from of Jamestown, Rhode Island. He died in March 1986 at the age of 73. Despite the rareness of his surname researchers have not been able to locate or contact members of his extended family. He did not have any children and only a single niece, Constance M. Goodwin of Fort Carson, Colorado. No other information or contact has been made with Constance despite significant effort. There were no later visits after the war by any of the crew of the aircraft that crashed at Aiyura. Lt. James T. Holcomb was the only World War II soldier that died at Aiyura Valley and he was buried there. However, at the time of this writing the location of his grave in Aiyura Valley is not known.

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Chapter 5 The Final B – 25 Aircraft Resting Place Eventually the B-25 Mitchell Bomber was hauled to the end of the Aiyura Airstrip and left there for a number of years. The photo below, taken by Ron Carne who worked at the “Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station” under the direction of Aubrey Schindler5, shows the aircraft sitting at the end of the airstrip in 1958 or 1959.

Photo of one of the A-24 airplane in the foreground with the B25C Mitchell Bomber in the background. Photo likely taken in 1958 or 1959 – Planes are located at the end of the Aiyura Airstrip. (Photo courtesy of David Carne) 5

Aubrey (Aub) Schindler took over the work at the “Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station” after the death of Mr. Bill Brechin. Eventually Aub’s wife Ancie went on in 1953 to start started a small Primary School for the European and local children on the station and valley. This was later changed to the Aiyura Primary School by the Department of Education in 1955. The small school was later taken over by the Summer Institute of Linguistics which began work in the valley in 1956. The school most noted in the valley and built near the airstrip bears their name “Professor Schindler’s School”.

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One of these aircraft was moved to the SIL Ukarumpa Center by Lex Collier and taken apart and used as part of the drainage pipe near the SIL Printshop when it was built in 1965. Some of the remaining aircraft were broken down and used for bridges, winches and various practical things around the Agricultural Station.

1965 - SIL Printshop, Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea (Photos courtesy of SIL PNG Archives)

Eventually one of the wings of the B-25 Bomber was taken to Asaranka Village (on the far side of the airstrip) and dumped in a nearby creek. In the 1990s the wing was moved by Sherm Guyer, the SIL Construction Manager, to build a culvert for a bridge going to Asaranka Village. The bridge was built from logs and planks and Marsden Matting left over from use in runways during World War II. The wing was used to build the foundation and direct the water under the bridge.

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2012 - Culvert near Asaranka village where B-25 airplane shell rests (Photo courtesy of Merle Busenitz)

2012 - Culvert near Asaranka village where B-25 airplane shell rests (Photo courtesy of Merle Busenitz)

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2012 - Culvert near Asaranka village where B-25 airplane shell rests (Photo courtesy of Merle Busenitz)

2012 - Culvert near Asaranka village where B-25 airplane shell rests (Photo courtesy of Merle Busenitz)

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Chapter 6 Aiyura Valley After The War After the war in the early 1950s, the Australian Trust Territory of New Guinea took to the task of pacifying the people of the Highlands and sent many Patrol Officers into the area. Once the Patrol Officers brought a measure of peace to the Highlands, the Australian government opened the Highlands to development and missionary work in 1956.

1956 - Dr. Jim Dean and local New Guinea helper looking over Aiyura Valley (Photo courtesy of SIL PNG Archives)

That year, Wycliffe Bible Translators took notice of the Aiyura Valley area and two Wycliffe men representing the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), Dr. James (Jim) C. Dean from Canada and Dr. Richard 42 | P a g e

(Dick) Pittman from the United States visited the valley looking for a location to build a Bible translation center.

Dr. Jim and Gladys Dean - First SIL PNG Branch Director (Photo courtesy of SIL PNG Branch Archives)

After the war, Aiyura Valley had also been the location of the Peacock Plantation, a failed commercial coffee venture. Before that, however, it was a plot of land disputed and fought over by surrounding language communities (and traditional enemies), the Gadsup and Tairora. Because the Australian government wanted to separate the two warring sides they saw it as an ideal place for SIL's work. A 99year lease for the 500 acres at Ukarumpa was signed by Dr. Pittman and witnessed by the first SIL Papua and New Guinea Branch Director, Dr. Jim Dean on 4 October, 1956. Jim Dean and his wife Gladys had first worked in Mexico for six months among the Aztec Indians and then had lived among the Bilaan of the Philippines for 2 ½ years before coming to New Guinea. Jim was also the principal of the SIL linguistic school in Melbourne, Australia in 1956.

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Jim Dean and local valley people (Photo courtesy SIL PNG Branch Archives)

First House at Ukarumpa 1956 – Home of Dr. Jim and Gladys Dean (Photo courtesy of SIL PNG Archives)

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The first home built on the center, known as the Ukarumpa Center (named after a nearby village of the same name), was the home of Jim and Gladys Dean. Jim and Gladys took up residence at Ukarumpa in late October 1956 along with their four children, Sharon, Timothy, Roseann and David. The house was built from bush material and was called the "Philippine House" because of the Dean’s previous work in the Philippines and because the house was built on stilts like in the Philippines. The Dean’s eventually had a fifth child, Jonathan, who was born in the Australian Trust Territory of New Guinea. Jim remained the director of the branch until he was asked to open up Wycliffe’s work in India in the mid-1960s.

Early SIL Ukarumpa Leaders – Dr. Jim Dean, Dr. Dick Pittman and Bill Oates (Photo courtesy of the James Dean Family)

Once the lease was secured, the center began to develop. The SIL missionaries soon built homes at Ukarumpa and planted hundreds of Rainbow Gum (Eucalyptus deglupta) trees to soak up the swampy area of the valley. They also planted a variety of Pine and Casuarina trees and other shrubs which have attracted a wide variety of flora and fauna.

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Aiyura Valley Today Today, the Ukarumpa Center and Aiyura Valley is home to a thriving mission center dedicated to giving God’s Word to every language needing it in Papua New Guinea in their own mother tongue.

2014 - Ukarumpa Center (Photo courtesy of Jeff Stout)

2011 – Aiyura Valley airstrip (Photo courtesy of Michael Johnson)

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Ukarumpa Center (background) and Aiyura National High School (foreground) (Photo courtesy of Michael Johnson)

Aiyura Valley is also home to a variety of Papua New Guinea government run organizations. They include the Aiyura National High School, the National Agricultural Research Institute, the Coffee Research Institute and the Highlands Aquaculture Development Centre along with a growing number of local citizens from the Gadsup and Tairora language communities.

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2011 - Aiyura National High School (Photo courtesy of Michael Johnson)

Coffee Research Institute and National Agricultural Research Institute (Photo courtesy of Michael Johnson)

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Highlands Aquaculture Development Centre (Photo courtesy of the Highlands Aquaculture Development Centre)

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Bibliography “Aiyura Valley”, Photos, Australian War Memorial, <http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/099617> “Aiyura Valley”, Photos, Summer Institute Of Linguistics Collection, 1956. “Aiyura Valley”, Photos, Wycliffe Bible Translators Collection, 1956. “Aiyary (Aiyura) Airstrip”, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, <http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/png/aiyary/1942/aiyura-doan-coll.html> Carne, Ron. Photo, B-25C Mitchell Bomber at Aiyura Airstrip, Ron Carne Collection, 1958 or 1959. Doan, Oliver C. “Aiyary Airstrip (Aiyura Airstrip) Eastern Highlands PNG”, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, <http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/png/aiyary/index.html>. “Fortress’s Battle With 15 Zeros”, Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Newspaper, 18 June 1943: 3 <http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/11331151> Gamble, Bruce, Darkest Hour, The True Story of Lark Force At Rabaul, Zenith Press, St. Paul, MN, 2006: 49, 81, 87, 101-102, 105, 109, 145, 159, 179, 191-193. “Highlands Aquaculture Development Centre (HAQDEC)”, Aiyura, Online Posting, SPC Aquaculture Posting, <http://www.spc.int/aquaculture/index.php?option=com_centreexcellence&view=centreexcell ence&id=15> “Inhumanity to Australian Prisoners – Jap Savagery at Rabaul”, Online Posting, Canberra Times, April 7, 1942: 1 <http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2558858?searchTerm=&searchLimits=lpublictag=Tol+Plantation+Massacre> “Jerry Pentland”, Online Posting, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pentland> Johnson, Michael. “Aiyura National High School”, Photo. Flicker, kahunapulej's photostream, < http://www.flickr.com/photos/kahunapulej/4025383781/>. “Kainantu Airstrip”, Photo, 1953. < http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/152566-png-ples-bilong-tok-tok89.html> Kershaw, Hollie Smith, Kainantu, Gateway to the Highlands, Marquell Press, Goroka, 1986: 46-49. Ibid., p. 85-86. 50 | P a g e

Micheals, Charles J. “God’s Grocers”, Online Posting, Issuu. < http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/gods_grocers_chapter_2>. Mercado, Stephen C., The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: a history of the Imperial Japanese Army's Elite Intelligence School. Brassey’s Inc., 2002: 91-93. “Mitchell B-25C Bomber”, Photo, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540, USA <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print> “Nakano agents and the Japanese forces in New Guinea, 1942-1945”, Online Posting, Goliath Business Knowledge On Demand, <http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3572995/Nakano-agents-and-the-Japanese. html> Radford, Robin. Highlanders and foreigners in the upper Ramu: the Kainantu area 1919-1942, Melbourne University Press, 1987, p. 157 “Rescued Lost Airmen”, Online Posting, Sydney Morning Herald, May 6, 1944: 4, <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pUwQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=75QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7295,380 811&dq=jerry+pentland&hl=en> Rogers, Edward. “B-25C Mitchell Serial Number 41- 2478”, Online posting, Pacific Wrecks, <http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-25/41-12478.html>. Rogers, Edward. A-24 Dive Bomber Serial Number 41-15820, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, < http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/a-24/41-15820.html>. Rogers, Edward. “A-24 Dive Bomber Serial Number 41-15822”, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, < http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/a-24/41-15822.html>. Rogers, Edward. “A-24 Dive Bomber Serial Number 41-15783”, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, < http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/a-24/41-15783.html>. Rogers, Edward. “Floyd W. Rogers”, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, < http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/a-24/41-15797/rogers-flight-gear.html>. Rogers, Edward. “B-25C Mitchell Serial Number 41-12478”, Online Posting, Pacific Wrecks, < http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-25/41-12478.html>. Short, Gordon Herbert. “New Guinea: Huon Peninsula, Upper Ramu River Area” Photo. Australian War Memorial, <http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/016016> Sinclair, James. The Highlanders, Jacaranda Press, Brisbane, 1971.

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“Transcript of Oral History - Herbert John ‘Jack’ Holmfield”, Online Posting - Australian War Memorial, Accession Number # S01043. <http://www.awm.gov.au/transcripts/s01043_tran.htm>

“Ukarumpa”, Charles J. Micheals Collection, 1985.

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About The Author

Charles Micheals is a native of Michigan and lived the first thirty years of his life there, eventually working in the grocery industry. In 1985, Charles, his wife Barbara and their four small children joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and moved to the country of Papua New Guinea (PNG) where they worked with the internationally known non-profit linguistic organization, SIL International (formerly the Summer Institute of Linguistics). Charles served in a variety of administrative roles in PNG, including several years as the Chairman of the SIL PNG Job Evaluation and Wage Review Committee and on the SIL PNG Executive Committee.

During their 15 years of service in PNG, Bible translation work was completed in 67 languages and over 100 additional Bible translation projects were started. Today, almost 180 language communities, representing 1.8 million people in PNG have access to the Scriptures in their own languages.

In 2000, Charles and Barbara moved back to the USA and Charles served for several years as the Regional Director for Recruitment for Wycliffe, living in the Chicago, Illinois area. In 2004 they moved to Orlando, Florida where Charles served for six and one half years as the Vice President for Recruitment Ministries for Wycliffe. He currently heads up Wycliffe’s Management and professional Recruitment Department and speaks at various mission conferences and colleges each year. Barbara coordinates several Wycliffe short term mission trips each year.

Charles holds a BS degree in Food Distribution from Western Michigan University and a MA degree in Organization Management from Dallas Baptist University. He served on the Board of Directors for The Finishers Project, a non-profit mission dedicated to helping people in the second half of life find places to serve in missions. He has also been involved in helping create and develop Mission Teach, a ministry 53 | P a g e

dedicated to helping place teachers in MK (Missionary Kid) mission schools around the world and Military Believer, a growing ministry dedicated to helping military personnel who are leaving the military, find opportunities for service in global missions.

Charles has also authored a number of books and articles about the work of SIL in PNG and other historical stories about life in the Aiyura Valley in PNG. (http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs)

Both Charles and Barbara are members of Saint Andrew’s church in Sanford, FL and are involved in a variety of church activities there. Charles serves as an elder at the church. However, they are still members of Second Christian Reformed Church, in Kalamazoo, Michigan which is the church that commissioned them for their work with Wycliffe. All four of their children are actively supporting missions and church ministry work. Two of their four children are serving with Wycliffe around the world.

1950s - Aiyura Valley (Back cover photo courtesy of Ivan Schindler)

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