Japanese WW II pilot drops aid

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.