18 AUGUST 1944 - Captain CLARENCE L. "SOLIE" SOLANDER, pilot of "Daylight Special", while on a searching mission for a P-38 pilot reported to have landed at sea at 0�45'S, 135�00'E, sighted a white man in a native canoe off the South shore of Japen Island. He circled the canoe several times to investigate and was surprised to note that the white man proved to be an albino native. However, the natives kept pointing towards the village on the shore, where Captain Solander sighted a beached Air Corps life raft, and a native paddling a white man with his parachute in the direction of the ship. Captain Solander landed and picked up the lost P-38 pilot. The pilot stated that while returning from a strafing mission over Ceram, his fuel became exhausted and he was forced to land his plane on a coral reef, 200 yards off the shore of Japen Island. The pilot was unhurt, paddled ashore in his life raft and spent the night with friendly natives.

RESCUED:  1 P-38 pilot

AIRCRAFT TYPE: OA-10A*
USAAF SERNO: 44-33880  (CV-332)**
CALLSIGN:  "Daylight Special" 
CREW: (Pilot) Cpt Clarence L. Solander, (Co-Pilot) 2Lt Richard K. Knowlton, (Navigator) 2Lt Harry I. Schulman, (Engineer) S/Sgt Prescott D. Register, (Radio) Cpl Ned M. Books, (Radar) Sgt Anthony C. Napolitano

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* Aircraft produced at Canadian Vickers Ldt, Cartierville, Quebec, Canada
** Canadian Vickers contract number that was unique to each aircraft produced by at Cartierville

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