Kyt alerted me to this and we decided to post. Justin Taylan is well known for his work on pacificwrecks.com and he is a keen supporter of keeping the history alive, particularly re-establishing links to veterans who served int he Pacific. I'm not sure what is going on here, who the salvagers were or whatever (Justin has been quite vocal regarding his stance to not recover aircraft) but it is certainly a shame that someone trying to preserve history legally is persecuted in such a way. Taylan Defense & Support Fund One American’s Battle to Save World War II History in the South Pacific SOLOMON ISLANDS — December 10, 2007 — A young American, Justin Taylan, 30, of Hyde Park, New York, has been held captive five weeks since November 6, 2007 in the Solomon Islands, a tiny Pacific island nation off the east coast of Australia. Taylan is founder of a non-profit history website detailing World War II stories and Pacific theater airplane wrecks. Traveling by boat from Papua New Guinea, he hoped to explore relics from the Battle of Guadalcanal. Also held in custody by Solomon authorities are Taylan’s colleagues Yoji Sakaida, 41, of Chiba, Japan, World War II enthusiast and graphic designer, Rodney Pearce, 57, citizen of Australia and the ship’s captain, and Daisy Eliah, 25, citizen of Papua New Guinea, the ship’s cook. On November 6, Taylan inadvertently stumbled upon a salvage operation underway at Ballale Island, part of the famous Battle of Guadalcanal. “There are more World War II plane wrecks there than anywhere else in the world,” Taylan said. “We saw six Zero fighters, a Val dive bomber and a Betty bomber being illegally removed. That’s why all this started.” The group drew the attention of the salvagers. The Royal Solomon Island Police Force confiscated their passports, photos, and videotapes placing them in detention without charges. They have since been charged with illegally entering the country and pleaded innocent since they crossed borders through a published port of entry and in accordance with Solomon Islands law. Trial is set for December 12 and the maximum sentence is three years in jail. Taylan testified in September 2006 before Papua New Guinea Parliament National Parliament in the “Inquiry into the National Museum and Art Gallery and the Sale and Export of the Swamp Ghost Aircraft.” He received an official commendation from the governing body that his “evidence as to the extent of the removal of these aircraft over the last decade and the complicity of the Museum to be of great assistance.” The grandson of World War II combat photographer Carl Thien, Taylan gained an appreciation for Pacific War air battles early on. As a teenager, he accompanied his grandfather on a return trip to Papua New Guinea to photograph wrecks in their original locations. More information, photos, and updates are available at Taylan Defense & Support Fund. Interviews with Taylan may be arranged through the press contact listed above. PACIFICWRECKS.COM Taylan searches out wrecks, safeguards human remains, and returns dog tags and other artifacts to surprised veterans. He is founder of PacificWrecks.com, a free, non-profit history website detailing World War II stories and Pacific theater airplane wrecks that draws 45,000 hits a month. He produces and distributes his own historical documentaries and has appeared on The History Channel and PBS. Taylan was featured in the October 2007 issue of Smithsonian Magazine in an article titled “Swamp Ghosts: In Papua New Guinea, a journalist investigates the controversy over a World War II bomber.” He wrote his first book about the war, “No Place for a Picnic,” at age 16 and has since been published in many historical and flight publications and spoken on this topic around the world.
Interesting local news report about the removal - possibly what Taylan apparently stumbled upon. The method of removal - shove till it moves - leaves a bit to be desired, Japanese aircraft wrecks invariably being paper thin etc. YouTube - Shortland & Ballalae Aircraft Salvage
I watched a programme not long back on the local people of these islands and others in the pacific who used to and are still diving on these wrecks and whatever they are bringing to the surface they are selling to tourists. Irealise that these people are very poor but this is in some cases grave robbing which has to be stopped by their goverments. Sniper eep:
