Our last encounter on this
Trailblazer voyage was a wreck, identified as a B17 bomber, which
was shot down by a Japanese patrol boat during World War II. It was
downed in the vicinity of Likupang approximately 50 kilometres north
of Manado. The wreckage lay at depth of 25 meters. We followed precautions
for diving on a military site. Locate, observe but do not disturb.
The wreck is scattered across the sandy sea bottom and sharks were
making their inquisitive rounds around the fuselage. A huge stingray
lay undisturbed under the rear tail wing. Coral and fishes inhabit
the bulks of metal. The rest of the story about the aircraft we found
out later from the islanders.
Bangka Island
Soon after the plane crashed,
the bodies of two American airmen were washed up on the nearby beach.
The day their bodies were found, a young woman on the island gave
birth. She named her child Lexy Leo after the name on one of the dead
airmen's dog tags. Whether other airmen survived the crash is not
known. After getting back to Manado we did some more checking. The
story of the wreck is still a mystery. American Military Officials
have no record of a Lexy Leo, missing in action. But his legacy, along
with the rest of the crew is all too real. It lies undisturbed, at
the bottom of the Molluccan Sea.
Bangka Island
- Sahong Cove
On a voyage like this where
so many gratifying moments accompany one's ventures, it is always
a melancholic occasion to say farewell. One thing was sure, we would
be back again soon. Every inch we had seen so far would justify any
and every effort to return.
