P-MAN II - 6 
On
14 October, after setting up a grid and obtaining magnetometry data along
the southeastern coastal reef of Babeldaob (and once again finding positive
signals but no new iron sources), we went back to the southern side of
Ngargol. Following Chip Lambert's lead, we traveled in a westerly direction
along Ngargol and located the second new ship debris field. This also
was in shallow water (~20 feet), so everyone had long dives. A large number
of artifacts were found and photographed, although features, which might
identify the ship, were not found.
We
made one side trip while on the way to Toachel Mid. In 1994, I had discovered,
during a low tide and a pouring rainstorm, some aircraft landing gear
debris along the eastern side of the bridge connecting Arakabesan and
Koror. I had later read in the 1947 Graves Registration Unit summary report
mention of a Corsair that had crashed in that area and the aviator had
been buried by the Japanese and later exhumed after the war. I assumed
that the landing gear was from this Corsair but wanted better pictures
for confirmation. Greg and I jumped overboard in the shallow water and
got some photographs. Upon our return to the States, 
Reid, after doing some considerable detective work, made the startling
discovery that the tail gear assembly was not from a Corsair but rather
from a three-man Avenger. While it is possible the Graves Registration
Unit may have misidentified the crash site, it does beg the question of
what might have happened to the other two crewmembers. Further, I have
found no report of an Avenger crashing in this immediate area. While in
this area, we also looked for any remaining debris which might belong
to Dixon's B-24, without success.
On 15 October, Professor Don Shuster and I received
Certificates of Appreciation in a surprise ceremony by the CILHI search
team for our providing the background research, which led to their trip
there. 
Although
the CILHI team had not found the burial site, they believed they had made
substantial progress on this preliminary trip and felt that a second trip
in 2001 was warranted. CILHI departed for Hawaii later that day. That
night, we were guests of Mandy and Shallum Etpison, whose late father
had been President of Palau. Shallum, who has been helping with our searches
for years, offered to take us to two new crash sites during our visit.
We scheduled a time for later in the week.
