MIA hunters plan to track dog tags
Ruth Nerhaugen The Republican Eagle
When dog tags bearing the names of 100 American servicemen from World War II showed up in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, Bryan Moon feared the worst. The Japanese were known to execute soldiers taken captive during the war.
Moon tracked down the family of one of those soldiers, a Minnesotan from Brainerd, and learned that the man, Alva Clark, had survived World War II.
So what were ClarkÕs dog tags doing in the jungle?
ThatÕs one of the questions Moon and teams of MIA Hunters will try to answer when they travel to Papua New Guinea in May and June.
MIA Hunters is an international organization established by Moon, who lives in rural Cannon Falls. Its mission is to locate lost World War II airmen so they can be brought back for burial by the U.S. ArmyÕs MIA recovery unit.
Moon leaves Tuesday to smooth the way for the nine-member team Ñ eight men and one woman, all volunteers who pay their own way. The average age is over 60, according to Moon, who is 80. Another Cannon Falls resident, Karl Molenaar, is returning as part of this yearÕs crew.
More than 62 years have passed since the war was fought in that part of the world, and the nonprofit MIA Hunters Ñ Moon and his wife, Cicely, with their son, Christopher, and his wife, Dona Ñ are concerned that no more time be wasted tracking down servicemen listed as missing in action.
Since MIA volunteers last went exploring in the jungle last summer, they received news from a native scout who he had visited a remote village where 100 military dog tags had been dug up.
The scout sent Moon details on four randomly selected dog tags for further investigation. Alva R. ClarkÕs tag read ÒBrainerd, Minnesota,Ó so Moon started his search there and found Kent Clark, the son of Alva Clark.
Clark served with the 22nd Infantry Division in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. He returned from the war, but died in 1975. He never talked about the war, however, and his son had no idea why his dog tag was found in the jungle.
Did the others whose dog tags were found survive? ÒWeÕll find out whatÕs going on there,Ó Moon said.
The sites where airplane wreckage and dog tags have been reported are on the north coast of New Guinea. Four-wheel-drive vehicles will take the group within about 30 minutes of a village; from there it will be another two-hour hike to the spot where an American aircraft with human remains has been confirmed.
The Republican Eagle
Red Wing, MN