Japanese WW II pilot drops aid

Antara, Banggai Regency

A Japanese pilot from the World War II era, who was saved by locals during the war 60 years ago, dispatched an aid package to Tangeban subdistrict, some 60 kilometers north of Luwuk, the capital of Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi province.

A member of a team tracking the location where the drop was made, Irwan Lawila, said on Saturday that the aid package was in the form of 1,000 plastic chairs, four electric generators, 80 pesticide spray units and 40 sheets of canvass for tents.

The story began a few years ago when the pilot Kikuchi Toshikazu, now 86, suddenly felt a desire to express his gratitude to the people of South Sulawesi who saved his life 60 years ago.

He wrote a letter to the Japanese Consulate in Makassar, explaining his wish and telling them that he was a pilot who made an emergency landing in May, 1945. Two other Japanese soldiers were on the plane, but Toshikazu did not state their names.

In his letter, he had requested that the consulate in Makassar locate the exact site where the plane went down, after it was hit by Allied fire. To fulfill Toshikazu's wish, the consulate formed a team of trackers headed by the consulate's senior advisor, Paul Harmonio with four other local team members, Irlan, Ahsan, Akmal and Usman. The team has been looking for it since 2001 and was successful in finding the site last year.

There only lead to start with was an old map of Sulawesi (Celebes) with a point marked on it where the plane likely went down. It was later found in the area surrounding Tangeban.

The pilot said in his letter that he and his two colleagues were rescued by the Tangeban villagers. They were forced to an emergency landing outside the village, as they were en route from Manado to Kediri.

They were sheltered at the house of the village head who had four children.

He said his plane was able to fly again after being repaired while villagers had cleared away shrubs for a week for a makeshift runway. After being certain it was the exact location that Toshikazu had meant, the team contacted him in Japan. The team explained in detail about the location they found, in addition to information from elderly witnesses in the village.

Through his reply, the World War II veteran had confirmed the location. So after locating the village, Toshikazu then dispatched the aid package, which he said was his way of showing gratitude to the Tangeban villagers, who had saved him from certain death or incarceration at the hands of the Allied forces. Tangeban village has now been divided into four villages, namely, Tangeban, Tangi, Eteng and Minang Andala. As a result of the political split, the aid package would be shared among the four villages, said Irlan.