covediver
Contributor
Have you ever been diving and come across a piece of wreckage and wondered "what is this from and how did it get here?" I think it has happened to all divers. The question becomes relegated to a log book entry and quickly forgotten as soon as a new wonder is encountered on the next dive. But not always. In my case, my encounter was with a wreck known as the Peacock off Scorpion Point, a wood hulled minesweeper with the subject of a great deal of local legend and (mis) information. I pursued the story on and off, avocationally and professionally, for a number of years finally finding the answers to a lot of my questions in a memoir written by a woman who lived on the ranch on the island.
"Vanished" by Wil Hylton tells a similar but much more profound tale about a diver who encounters a aircraft wreckage while diving in Palau and sets off to discover the story behind the wreckage, which turns out to be a B-24 lost during a bombing raid on the islands. The loss occurs during one mission in a little known campaign, especially compared to aerial operations in Europe or the B-29 raids on Japan. But for the families of the crew, the consequences of the loss are none-the-less profound. In solving the mystery, the diver encounters a number of people and organizations that become part of the quest. Ultimately, the submerged wreckage is identified and excavated, with the recovery of the remains of some of some the crew.
Hylton weaves three stories into a very readible narrative. The first story is of the search and identification of the artifact, in this case a B-24, an effort that requires underwater and terrestrial investigations. As with almost any submerged wreck, most of the effort involves archival research through long unexamined documents whose dimensions are measured in thousands of linear feet of shelf space, located in various depositories. Equally as important is documenting the recollection of island residents who witnessed the loss. Armed with this information, the search is narrowed to the underwater location. The second story is the seven-decade-old saga that continues until this day of the individuals, how they became a "crew," their experience in the war and the circumstances brought them to be on that particular mission, and how the families of these MIAs finally achieved closure. The third story is how this little piece fits into the epic of the World War II and its aftermath. At then end of the book, most of the questions are answered, but one or two mysteries about the mission endure.
This book reminded me very much of The Last Dive, a book that tells the story of the loss and discovery of the USS Grunion, a submarine lost in the Aleutian Islands during action with the enemy.
Interview: Wil S. Hylton, Author Of 'Vanished' : NPR
"Vanished" by Wil Hylton tells a similar but much more profound tale about a diver who encounters a aircraft wreckage while diving in Palau and sets off to discover the story behind the wreckage, which turns out to be a B-24 lost during a bombing raid on the islands. The loss occurs during one mission in a little known campaign, especially compared to aerial operations in Europe or the B-29 raids on Japan. But for the families of the crew, the consequences of the loss are none-the-less profound. In solving the mystery, the diver encounters a number of people and organizations that become part of the quest. Ultimately, the submerged wreckage is identified and excavated, with the recovery of the remains of some of some the crew.
Hylton weaves three stories into a very readible narrative. The first story is of the search and identification of the artifact, in this case a B-24, an effort that requires underwater and terrestrial investigations. As with almost any submerged wreck, most of the effort involves archival research through long unexamined documents whose dimensions are measured in thousands of linear feet of shelf space, located in various depositories. Equally as important is documenting the recollection of island residents who witnessed the loss. Armed with this information, the search is narrowed to the underwater location. The second story is the seven-decade-old saga that continues until this day of the individuals, how they became a "crew," their experience in the war and the circumstances brought them to be on that particular mission, and how the families of these MIAs finally achieved closure. The third story is how this little piece fits into the epic of the World War II and its aftermath. At then end of the book, most of the questions are answered, but one or two mysteries about the mission endure.
This book reminded me very much of The Last Dive, a book that tells the story of the loss and discovery of the USS Grunion, a submarine lost in the Aleutian Islands during action with the enemy.
Interview: Wil S. Hylton, Author Of 'Vanished' : NPR
