[Back][Next] On the night of the 25th, Lieutenant Chavetz, pilot of "Playmate 67", searched the area for three hours but was unable to find any trace of the boat or the remaining eight survivors. On the morning of 26 July 1945, Lieutenant McKeon, pilot of "Playmate 67" returned to search the area and located one man in a dinghy at 11°00'N, 110°00'E and in spite of an extremely rough sea, landed and effected the rescue of Lieutenant Edward Gingwick, member of the 868th Bomb Squadron, one of the ten men, who bailed out on 23 July. After a long and hazardous run in ten foot swells with a gaping hole in the nose of the hull and his ship half full of water, Lieutenant McKeon finally succeeded in getting the heavily loaded ship off the water and returned safely to base with his survivor. Day after day planes continue to search the area but thus far none of the remaining seven men have been reported rescued. The two who succeeded in reaching the lifeboat were later picked up by an American submarine. It is obvious that when a crew bails out over a wide area of the sea, they soon become scattered by wind and currents and with each succeeding day, their chances of rescue grows less and less. AIRCRAFT: B-17H & OA-10A 44-33941 CALLSIGN:
"JUKEBOX" & "PLAYMATE 67" CREW: (P) 2Lt Rogers, (P) 2Lt Donald F. McKeon, (P) 2Lt Albert Chavetz, (CP) 2Lt Lavern M. Mellstrom,
(N) 2Lt James E. Beavers, (FS) Capt. Nicholas E. Bailey, (E) S/Sgt Cope, (R) Sgt Holley
(V) S/Sgt Gibson |
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24 JULY 1945 - The
13th Emergency Rescue Group Detachment at Palawan dispatched one Catalina and a B-17
carrying an airborne life boat to the vicinity of the survivors on the morning of 24 July.
Both ships arrived at the rendezvous point at approximately 1000. "Jukebox"
(B-17), piloted by Lieutenant Rogers sighted three dinghies, each containing one man. He
dropped his boat near one of the survivors who immediately went aboard. Several ships were
circling the other two dinghies, but apparently the man who reached the boat was unable to
start the motors and was of no assistance in picking up the other survivors nearby. In the
meantime, "Playmate 67" spotted four other dinghies scattered over an area of 20
miles. The sea was so rough that Lieutenant Davis, pilot of the Catalina did not land.
Both rescue planes remained in the vicinity until 1255, noting that another survivor has
succeeded in reaching the "Flying Dutchman".