The e-mails received from Paul Roales by Jerry Ferrin are presented on this page in chronological order. For the latest information on Paul's research, see the bottom of this web page.
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 13 January 2005. Dec. 4 at the Tulsa, OK flea market I bought 3 items which I am researching. They were:1) A 3.5x6" American Red Cross envelope (Form 539) with the following written in pen on it "Air map of a P.38 - which was shot down by Zero in Dod [Dog?] fight. The pilot was killed and plane burned. February 1943". 2) Inside the envelope was a piece of a map of the southeast tip of Papua New Guinea measuring about 9"x 3" burned on the edges and 3) A 3x5" thin paper "Surrender Pass" written in English and Japanese (?).
Research on the WWW has convinced me that this P-38 was one of 5 lost in Feb. 1943 from the 347th FG (Fighter Group). So further research on the WWW brought me to your page on Donald White. He was apparently one of the five P-38 pilots that I believe may have carried the material I have.
I was wondering if we could somehow work together to try and determine if my material is from his plane?
If you would like to see scans of my material, just ask.
signed
Paul Roales
Note by Jerry Ferrin, 14 Jan 2005:
Of course, I immediately responded to Mr. Roales and asked to see scans of the images. After having seen the material, I asked for and received his permission to publish images of the documents, as I believe they will be of interest to readers of this site and may help Mr. Roales identify the unfortunate pilot of the P-38 Lightning in which the wreckage of these documents were found. My own interpretation of the facts is that some American serviceman found the crash site and these items, mailed them back to a friend or relative in the U.S.A. as poignant momentos of the war and then - somehow or another, the momentos ended up at the "flea market" where Mr. Roales found them. If you have any information, or clues, as to whom this pilot may have been, please contact Paul Roales directly.
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 15 January 2005 The proposed page looks good to me. The only suggestion I might make is to add some comments about the "Surrender pass". 1) My image shows both sides of the pass (you probably knew that, but maybe someone else might not), 2) the reverse of the pass may be upside down (I do not read any of those languages except English so I cannot tell), and 3) there appear to be 3 different oriental languages or 3 dialects or 3(?) in addition to English on the pass.
I visited the ABMC web site after finding your Donald White page. They report his date of death as Dec. 15, 1945 which was actually his "Finding of Death" date according to your web page. I emailed them about the date (hoping to use the other names on their lists to narrow down my search) and got this reply: "No, our database does not include the missing in action date for all of those listed as missing in action, lost at sea or non-recoverable or unidentifiable. Without confirms information to the contrary, a War Department Administrative Review Board established the official date of death of those commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing as one year and a day from the date on which the individual was placed in missing in action status."
But December 15, 1945 is not one year and a day after Feb. 23, 1943...so for some reason his official "Finding of Death" took longer than normal. Just a wild guess...perhaps because someone found the wreck?
Anyway the web page looks fine and I appreciate your effort. I hope it helps us track down the P-38 pilot.
Paul
![A 3.5 inch x 6 inch American Red Cross envelope (Form 539) with the following written in ink on it 'Air map of a P.38 - which was shot down by Zero in Dod [Dog?] fight. The piolet [pilot] was killed and plane burned. February 1943'.
Collection of Paul Roales, used with his permission.](../pics/p38envelope.jpg)
A 3.5" x 6" American Red Cross envelope (Form 539) with the following written in ink on it:
"Air map of a P.38 - which
was shot down by Zero
in Dod [Dog?] fight. The piolet [pilot]
was killed and plane burned. February 1943".
Collection of Paul Roales.
Above: the front and back, pictured side by side,
of a 3" x 5" thin paper "Surrender Pass" written in English, Japanese and two other oriental languages.
Collection of Paul Roales.
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 14 January 2005. "Dec. 4 at the Tulsa, OK flea market I bought 3 items which I am researching. They were:1) A 3.5x6" American Red Cross envelope (Form 539) with the following written in ink on it "Air map of a P.38 - which was shot down by Zero in Dod [Dog?] fight. The piolet [pilot] was killed and plane burned. February 1943". 2) Inside the envelope was a piece of the bottom border of a map showing the southeast tip of Papua, New Guinea measuring about 9"x 3" burned on the edges and, 3) A 3x5" thin paper "Surrender Pass" written in English and Japanese (?). So I began a search on the internet to determine who the pilot of this P-38 was.
As you requested, here is a description of how I narrowed my search to 5 aircraft.
First I had to determine which units had P-38�s in the South Pacific in Feb. 1943. I found this in a web page about the P-38: "The first P-38Fs to reach Australia during 1942 were assigned to the 39th Fighter Squadron of the 35th Fighter Group. Its first success took place on December 27, 1942. The limited number of Lightnings available during late 1942 and early 1943 had to be used to make up attrition in the 39th Fighter Squadron and to equip only a single squadron in each of the 8th (80th. Squadron) and 49th (9th. Squadron) Fighter Groups of the Fifth Air Force in New Guinea, and of the 18th and 347th Fighter Groups of the Thirteenth Air Force on Guadalcanal."
So that gives 5 squadrons or groups to check. I began to read webpages and email webmasters of sites that discussed those 5 units.
The 80th squadron of the 8th. Fighter Group of the 5th. Air Force was eliminated because a web page reported they were not flying P-38�s in combat until April 1943. Contacts made through web pages on the 39th FS of the 35th FG and the 9th FS of the 49th FG reported that they had no KIA's or MIA's in February, 1943. So that eliminated all the 5th. Air Force units.
This plane was not from the 18th. FG of the 13th. Air Force because they were not in the area until March, 1943 according to a web page. So it had to be from the 347th Fighter Group of the 13th. Air Force. According to their web page the The 347th. FG was composed of three squadrons, the 67th, 68th and the 339th. But the 67th. Squadron did not get P-38�s until 1944. So it was either the 68th. Or the 339th FS of the 347th. FG of the 13th. Air Force.
Then I searched the Missing Air Crew Report summaries on a web page and found that the 347th. had only 5 P-38's reported as lost in combat in February, 1943. So my items had to come from one of those five. (I also checked the other units just in case, and none of them had any P-38 losses in February, 1943)."
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 03 March 2005. I went to the library and had prints made of the MACR's. They are much better than the copies from my scanner. Once I got everything printed I discovered that 3 of the MACR's are identical except for the name of the pilot. Apparently all 3 went missing on the same flight on Feb. 14 1943. The three are: Joseph Finkenstein, Wellman Huey, and Donald White. There are several reports about these 3 pilots as a group dated: 15. Dec '45, 4 May, 1948, 27 Jan 1949, and 29 March 1949. Basically these reports go over the same material that is in the MACR's without adding anything.
My initial thought is that the P-38 material I have is not from White or those other 2 pilots (MACR's 583,4,5) because no one saw them shot down and apparently someone saw 2 or all 3 collide in mid air. The material is not from the MACR 582 pilot as it reports that the plane had engine trouble and the pilot bailed out...so that does not match the text on my envelope.
But MACR 586 for Robert P Rist does match. It says: "Last seen by Major Westbrook, 44th. Ftr. Gp., with right engine smoking and Zeros on his tail". The plane was downed near Bougainville on Feb. 13, 1943. That fits closely, so I think the items belonged to him.
Of course I cannot absolutly rule out White or the other 2 pilots lost on Feb. 14 because of the lack of definative data. But the other match is so good that I think I am correct.
Anyway, more when I have had a chance to do some more research.
Paul
The Missing Air Crew Report for Lt. Donald G. White is MACR# 583. Plane: P-38, Group: 347. The following copy is courtesy of Paul Roales, sent to Jerry Ferrin 01 March 2005.
Missing Air Crew Report for Lt. Donald G. White, MACR# 583
This copy from the National Archives is courtesy of Paul Roales.
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 8 March 2005 On March 1, 2005 I received microfiche of those 5 MACR's from the National Archives. First I had to make paper copies of the records at the Public Library. All 5 MACR's list their aircraft as from the 339th. Fighter Squadron.
After examining these records it appears that the material I bought at the flea market was from the P-38 piloted by 2nd. Lt Robert P. Rist. His plane was lost on Feb. 13, 1943 near Bougainville. His MACR (586) states: "Last seen by Major Westbrook, 44th. Ftr. Gp., with right engine smoking and Zeros on his tail". That fits the information written on the envelope I have.
3 other MACR's (583, 584, 585) were for P-38's apparently lost in mid-air collisions on Feb. 14 (that includes Donald G. White, whose report is MACR 583) and the last MACR (582) was for a P-38 with engine trouble where the pilot bailed out on Feb. 25 but was never found.
None of those match the description on the envelope, so I am fairly sure the material belongs to the P-38G piloted by 2nd. Lt. Robert P Rist of the 339th. Fighter Squadron, 347th. Fighter Group, 13th. Air Force who was shot down by Zeros near Bougainville in the Solomon Islands on Feb. 13, 1943.
The Maxwell Air Force Base AERIAL VICTORY CREDIT LIST at http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/afhra/wwwroot/aerial_victory_credits/avc_index.html credits Robert P. Rist with 3 enemy aircraft shot down, one on Feb. 10 and 2 on the day he was shot down, Feb. 13, 1943.
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 11 March 2005 I have been in touch with the 339th. Fighter Squadron group and they may know something about Donald White that might help you with your research.
My contact was Al Place (E-mail: Aplace10 at aol dot com). He told me he was going to be away for a while, so you might wait a couple weeks to contact him.
Paul
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 23 March 2005 By the way, I found one other item about Donald White. In the book Bill: A Pilot's Story by Brooklyn Harris, (The story of Bill Harris (top ace of the 339th fighter squadron with 16 kills), Graphic Press, 1995 p. 93. "On February 14, 1943, the day Lt. Huey would be lost, 10 P-38's departed their base at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. They were joined by 12 Corsairs (F4U) from VMF-124, and some p-40's. The mission was an escort of B-24's on a strike against shipping in the Buin-Shortland Island area. The bombers succeeded in hitting several ships and inflicting damage to others. In the fighting that followed the Allied fighters claimed six sure and six probable, but lost 2 B-24's, two F4U's, and four P-38's.
The P-38 pilots were Lieutenants Joseph Finkenstein, Donald G White, John R. Mulvey, Jr. (later rescued) and Wellman H Huey. Many years later [1976], a Japanese book revealed information that indicated Huey had parachuted out of his P-38 and landed on a Japanese airfield. One of the Japanese pilots involved in the February 14, 1943 fight says that after he landed, he and others went to rough up the American. Since no word has ever been received from Wellman H Huey, it has to be assumed the roughing up was severe!"
If we could track down that unnamed Japanese book published in 1976 it might shed more light on what happened to Donald White, and it might provide information on my pilot also if he was not lost the day before. I am working on it.
Paul
The 339th Fighter Squadron Reunion & My 2005 Vacation On 2 Oct 2005, Paul Roales attended the reunion; this web page reports on what he learned during the event.
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 21 March 2006 Just a note to tell you that Air & Space magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution has bought my article on the relics from Robert Rist's crashed WW2 P-38.
They have not yet given me a publication date, but I will keep you posted.
Paul
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 26 August 2006 My story on Robert Rist is due for publication in the Nov. issue of Air & Space magazine by the Smithsonian Institution. It should hit the newsstands in Mid-September. It was quite a job editing it to fit the style and space limitations of Air & Space but I hope the flavor of the article is still there.
I have been in contact with Dale many times and we have exchanged information.
By the way, I will be attending the 339th. reunion again this year in Salt Lake City in September. I hope to have my article in hand to show at the reunion.
Anything new from your end?
Paul
Email from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 18 October 2006 Thought I would send you an update. My article on Robert Rist of the 339th. Fighter Squadron appeared in the November, 2006 issue of Air & Space from the Smithsonian. The article also appeared on the Air & Space web site, but the pictures are not on their web page. I had copies of the magazine with me to pass out when I attended the 339th. reunion in Salt Lake City on September 21-24. It was well received by the members of the unit and since then I have received several emails from others who read the article in Air & Space. I wrote up my reunion trip and placed it on the www. It has the same address as the trip description from last year. It is at http://home.earthlink.net/~roales/vacation5.htm.
I have one other item that might interest you. I was recently directed to the web page: http://www.pacificghosts.com/ballale/photos/kondoh/index.html which contains WW2 photos by a Japanese pilot named Kondoh-san of the 751st Kokutai unit. It says: "Kondoh's unit was based at Kavieng, New Ireland. He stayed on Ballale for two weeks during February 1-15, 1943. He was a pilot aboard G4M1 Betty bomber. During his stay an American P-38 crashed behind his tent. Its radio was removed and sent to Tokyo. They buried the dead pilot with military honors. A big Allied bombing raid happened on the night on February 15, 1943. Today he lives in retirement in Nagoya."
That P-38 could only have been one of three, either Robert Rist (but I believe he was lost further north near Choiseul Island) downed on Feb. 13 or Joseph Finkenstein or Donald White who were both lost on Feb. 14. The Ballale Island where the Japanese pilot was stationed is just north of Shortland Island off the southeast coast of Bougainville. My best guess is that this plane crash involved either Joseph Finkenstein or Donald G. White, or Finkenstein. Justin Taylan of Pacific Wrecks is planning a trip to Ballale Is. to try and locate the wreck and hopefully some human remains which could be identified by DNA. I have convinced the nephew of Robert Rist to donate a DNA sample to JPAC for possible use in identifying any remains found.
JPAC (Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command) http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/index.php?rd=1 is a government agency located in Hawaii which is responsible for identifying WW2, Korean War and Vietnam MIA remains.
If you have any contacts with the family of Donald G. White, I would ask you to contact them and see if they would be willing to donate a DNA sample to JPAC for possible use. I would be glad to provide the direct JPAC contact I used with Rist's relatives to them.
This is a long shot, but perhaps some closure could be provided to one family.
Paul Roales
E-mail from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 02 May 2008 As you can guess, planning a trip to that remote part of the world is not an overnight operation...so it may be a while before anything happens. But Justin Taylan of Pacific Wrecks has interviewed the Japanese pilot who saw the crash and we have done as much as we can with the research end.
I'll keep you posted.
Paul
E-mail from Paul Roales to Jerry Ferrin, 17 May 2008 Justin Taylan of Pacific Wrecks works completely within the law (in locating and reporting crash sites). He has full government permission to explore (for crash sites) and works with JPAC closely. In fact, it was his idea to get a member of the Rist family (and others) to contribute a DNA sample and, when they had problems contacting the proper person, he stepped in and simplified the procedure. He has made other trips to the area to recover wrecks and is already awaiting action from JPAC on another wreck he located with human remains.
By the way, the hotel for the 339th. FS reunion in Paducah, KY on October 9 - 12th, 2008 is the Courtyard Paducah West, at 3835 Technology Drive, Paducah, Ky. 42001. I plan to attend since I can drive there from Tulsa in one day.
Paul
Thanks to Paul Roales for finding, transcribing and contributing the above information and images to this web site!
This website is being created by Jerry Ferrin with the able assistance of many Contributors. Your comments, suggestions and contributions of historical information and photographs to this site are welcome. Please sign the Guest Book. This page was last updated 17 May 2008.