Subdeacon Joe Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Searching for lives lost in the WWII Himalayan airlift On a grassy slope more than 13,000 feet high in the Himalayas, Clayton Kuhles found the metal wreckage he was seeking in October, 2003 Little did the mountaineer from Prescott, Ariz. know that he also had discovered his calling. “It's my passion,” said Kuhles, 57, who has trekked to 19 crash sites on seven expeditions to the mountains of India, Bhutan and Burma, now known as Myanmar.. He mostly pays for the trips, which cost about $15,000 each, describing himself as a self-employed entrepreneur and adventurer. Kuhles' first documented crash site in the northeast corner of India, complete with GPS coordinates, was the one in 2003. He found the wreck of a C-87 Liberator Express four-engine cargo plane that crashed on April 24, 1943 during a World War II airlift over the world's tallest mountains. The aircraft's metal pieces lay in plain view on the mountainside, along with human bones and leather remnants of the aviators' uniforms. Some of the bones subsequently were identified by the Army as the remains of Mervyn Earl Sims, a 23-year-old Army private from Petaluma who was buried with full military honors Friday in his hometown. We could use a few more like him. May God bless him, keep him safe, and grant him success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.