Post by flyjoe180 on Aug 30, 2007 17:23:40 GMT 12
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/4182811a6016.html
WWII body discovery offers family closure
North Shore Times | Thursday, 30 August 2007
A Glenfield man has found closure with a World War Two air crash tragedy that claimed the life of a much-loved cousin more than 60 years ago.
This follows the discovery of the remains of young Kiwi airmen found in the Solomon Islands by New Zealand police.
On May 28, 1945, five young men died when a Royal New Zealand Air Force Ventura aircraft departed Honiara on an operational mission.
The aircraft carrying four depth charges crashed into a steep hillside, exploding on impact.
There were no survivors and the scarce partial remains which were found were buried followed by a short service.
Ray Page, now 84 years old, was a cousin and close mate of the navigator Sergeant Melville Pascoe Lawrence Moxsom of Morrinsville.
It was Mel's first mission and he had only been on Guadalcanal Island one day before the tragic crash. Mel was an only child and his parents are now dead.
The evening before the crash, Mel and Ray shared a couple of beers in the mess and caught up with each other. At the time, Ray was an air force engineer working on Guadalcanal Island.
Mel had hoped to be posted close to his cousin, and was delighted to catch up with him soon after arriving on the island. He offered to arrange a seat on the flight for Ray as an observer.
Ray turned it down because he didn't particularly like flying, even though he was in the air force.
The next morning, 20-year-old Mel and four other airmen were killed in a crash.
Ray's daughter Julie Beadle says the discovery of the remains is 'extremely poignant' for the whole family.
"It gives us an opportunity for some sense of closure while my father is still alive," she says.
Ray's wife of 57 years, Iris Page, says that during the past three months, Ray has talked about Mel every couple of days.
Although he has problems with his short-term memory, Iris says he was always clear about the past and shared his military experiences with his family.
Julie first became aware of the search for relatives while reading a newspaper. When she saw Mel's name printed in a story, she recognised it immediately.
"I phoned mum straight away and she broke the news to dad. She couldn't believe it."
Iris served in the Royal Australian Air Force as a weather observer from 1943 to 1946 and knows the anguish of being witness to crews that never returned home.
The role saw her attend many aircrew pre-flight mission briefings.
In her four years service, there were an 'awful lot that never came back', she says.
Iris says Ray remembers that the aircraft was flying in formation with other aircraft and Mel's plane was on the wing of the group. The plane just didn't clear the hill, she says.
"Ray remembers the news sweeping through the air force units like wild fire.
"Nothing much could be done about it, the hill was hidden and it was at the end of the island," she says.
WWII body discovery offers family closure
North Shore Times | Thursday, 30 August 2007
A Glenfield man has found closure with a World War Two air crash tragedy that claimed the life of a much-loved cousin more than 60 years ago.
This follows the discovery of the remains of young Kiwi airmen found in the Solomon Islands by New Zealand police.
On May 28, 1945, five young men died when a Royal New Zealand Air Force Ventura aircraft departed Honiara on an operational mission.
The aircraft carrying four depth charges crashed into a steep hillside, exploding on impact.
There were no survivors and the scarce partial remains which were found were buried followed by a short service.
Ray Page, now 84 years old, was a cousin and close mate of the navigator Sergeant Melville Pascoe Lawrence Moxsom of Morrinsville.
It was Mel's first mission and he had only been on Guadalcanal Island one day before the tragic crash. Mel was an only child and his parents are now dead.
The evening before the crash, Mel and Ray shared a couple of beers in the mess and caught up with each other. At the time, Ray was an air force engineer working on Guadalcanal Island.
Mel had hoped to be posted close to his cousin, and was delighted to catch up with him soon after arriving on the island. He offered to arrange a seat on the flight for Ray as an observer.
Ray turned it down because he didn't particularly like flying, even though he was in the air force.
The next morning, 20-year-old Mel and four other airmen were killed in a crash.
Ray's daughter Julie Beadle says the discovery of the remains is 'extremely poignant' for the whole family.
"It gives us an opportunity for some sense of closure while my father is still alive," she says.
Ray's wife of 57 years, Iris Page, says that during the past three months, Ray has talked about Mel every couple of days.
Although he has problems with his short-term memory, Iris says he was always clear about the past and shared his military experiences with his family.
Julie first became aware of the search for relatives while reading a newspaper. When she saw Mel's name printed in a story, she recognised it immediately.
"I phoned mum straight away and she broke the news to dad. She couldn't believe it."
Iris served in the Royal Australian Air Force as a weather observer from 1943 to 1946 and knows the anguish of being witness to crews that never returned home.
The role saw her attend many aircrew pre-flight mission briefings.
In her four years service, there were an 'awful lot that never came back', she says.
Iris says Ray remembers that the aircraft was flying in formation with other aircraft and Mel's plane was on the wing of the group. The plane just didn't clear the hill, she says.
"Ray remembers the news sweeping through the air force units like wild fire.
"Nothing much could be done about it, the hill was hidden and it was at the end of the island," she says.