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Reported sale of unearthed WWII aircraft to be probed
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Posted on Dec 15 2005
The Historic Preservation Office will investigate reports that there were two Japanese fighter planes that were unearthed from Pagan, but were sold by the finder in China.
HPO director Epiphanio Cabrera some residents of Pagan could attest that the two planes were found on Pagan in the 1990’s.
Cabrera refused to disclosed the identity of the finder, pending the completion of the HPO’s probe.
While the amount of the proceeds from the sale, if any, has yet to be ascertained, Cabrera said each plane, although dilapidated, could still be sold at $50,000, citing the information provided by businessman-historian Kenneth Moore.
Cabrera said there is reason to believe that two WWII Japanese planes were recovered and sold around 1994 to 1997, based on Moore’s information.
Moore recently went on a 10-day trip to Pagan, where his team found aircraft wreckage believed to be that of the fighter plane flown by Lt. Roy Bechtol, who was reportedly gunned down by Japanese counterparts near Pagan on June 23, 1944.
According to Moore, he has collected thousands of documents about WWII and would like to work with the HPO and federal authorities.
He said that he found his way to the CNMI to find the fighter plane of his uncle, Lt. William Webber, who also perished during the war. Moore said the plane and his uncle’s body have yet to be found since he began looking for them some 27 years ago.
