P-MAN XII (2010)

The P-MAN XII expedition is planned for 18 February - 12 March 2010.

•  P-MAN stands for Palau - Marine, Army Air Force, Navy. XII means this is the twelfth expedition since we started numbering them (in 1999).
   
•  While the team is in the field, you can read Progress Reports that we'll try to post as close to daily as possible.
   
•  A few months after completion of the 2010 expedition, you'll be able to come back here to read the P-MAN XII final report. Be patient.

Click here to read the regular progress reports as they're posted during this year's expedition.

The year leading up to P-MAN XII

The team returned from the 2009 Expedition in mid-March. As usual, they brought back a long list of things to research.

Team member Mark Swank, who had spent huge amounts of time over about a 3-year period at the College Park, Maryland research facility of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), finally made his first trip to Palau in 2009, and during that trip he led the team in our continued attempts to locate the execution and burial sites of some of the POWs whom we have been seeking. We believe that this year the team finally located the likely execution and burial site of several American AAF and UDT members and several missionaries who were POWs in Palau. Upon completion of the 2009 trip, Mark began compiling a detailed report about that investigation for submission to JPAC, with the hope that at some point JPAC will be able to devote resources to a recovery mission to this jungle location. Here's where you can read portions of Mark's POW report.

Plans for the 2009 expedition

Team members

This year's team members will be:

• Pat Scannon, Team Leader
• Flip Colmer, Mission Coordinator
• Rick Smith, Water Leader
• Paul Schwimmer, Land Leader
• Warren Bruce, Land Navigator
• Mike Raible, FNG

Objectives

• Land-based searches for the crash site of a Corsair in Ngatpang state, southwest of Ngeremeduu Bay (Ngatpang Bay). This effort will be led by Paul Schwimmer.
• Water-based searches for the crash site of the fourth and final B-24 that was shot down near Koror. This effort will be led by Rick Smith.

Progress Reports from P-MAN XII (2010)

In Palau, the current time (GMT +9) is:

And the weather there is

While the 2010 expedition is under way (18 February - 12 March), we plan to post progress reports more-or-less daily (see below). Over the past several years many of you have become regular, eager, enthusiastic readers of the progress reports. Thanks for your interest and support! And thanks for being understanding on those occasions when we've gotten behind by a day or so - there are times when there just aren't enough hours in the day, and we fall asleep before we can finish documenting the day's efforts.

This year's reports will mostly be contributed by Flip Colmer.

2010 Expedition Progress Reports

    Rpt # - Date - Topic

• 01 - January 11 - Prologue
• 02 - January 21 - Side-scan sonar training
• 03 - February 18 - The first wave arrives in Palau
• 04 - February 19 - Checking in with The President
• 05 - February 20-21 - Jungle, sonar, and manta boards
• 06 - February 22-23 - Interview; Japaness vs. English; barracks area revealed
• 07 - February 24 - Nuts and bats; strong current; Flip covets a yacht
• 08 - February 25-26 - Miscellany; P-MAN-interruptus; Semper Gumby
• 09 - February 27 - Sharks; trail blazing; Archaeology 101
• 10 - February 28 - There's the tsunami! No, wait - maybe THAT's it...
• 11 - March 01 - Hikes & hitchhikers
• 12 - March 02 - Departures; arrivals; Semper Fi
• 13 - March 03-04 - Sonar operator's motto: "Beam 'til you scream"; visit to the Japanese embassy; ghosts still inhabit Hell Island
• 14 - March 05 - Butterflies and AIRCRAFT PARTS IN THE JUNGLE!
• 15 - March 06 - More metal in the jungle. Lots more.
• 16 - March 07 - Presidential party tours Police Hill; Flip heads home
• 17 - March 08 - The report-writing torch is passed to Derek; important parts are found at a crash site; more help from the CAT
• 18F - March 08 - Flip's home; he shares some other people's photos
• 19 - March 09 - A junkyard can also be a reference library
• 20 - March 10 - The side-scan sonar gets a caretaker; winding down
• 21 - March 8-10 - Paul Schwimmer shares some thoughts
• 22 - March 11 - Reid waxes nostalgic

Page last modified 11 March 2010