Looks like men inside Ki-57 "Topsy" Transport	Same group outside Ki-57	Two JAAF aviators
Appears to be Ki-48 cockpit	Appears to be Ki-48 cockpit	Ki-48 in Kunai Grass
Aviator posing on Ki-48 Lily

The Ghosts in the Photographs
This haunting series of photographs depicts young Japanese aviators, whose identity is unknown.
The facts known about these photographs are as follows: presumably, they were taken in New Guinea, possibly at Madang or Wewak. The top two photos show men as passengers inside what appears to be a Mitsubishi Ki-57 transport plane, know as “Topsy” to the Allies. And, the same group posing outside the plane. The other photos show Japanese aviators posing with their Kawasaki Ki-48 Light bomber, known to the Allies as “Lily”, wearing their in flight gear.

Why The Photos Are in American Possession
Veteran Jack Heyn served in WWII with a photographic unit in New Guinea. The photos were brought to him in the summer of 1943. He recounts the of how they came into his possession:
“An infantry man brought them to (3rd BG) in the summer of 1943 when we were based at Dobadura. That was before we had even taken Lae and Nadzab. It would be my guess he got hold of them in the Buna-Gona-Sanananda Point fighting in late 1942 and early 1943. There were 8 2-1/4 X 3-1/4 negatives, which lead me to believe it was a roll of 120 film. That was a popular format for folding cameras at that time. I will be happy to send copies of the photographs to any surviving relatives in Japan, and learn more about their history.”

Three Identified, Seeking Others
This news story ran in the Sankei Shimbun Newspaper, Japan on April 18, 2003. As a result of the article, many phone calls were recieved from veterans, and several calls from relatives of the men pictured. For them, this was the first, and only photograph they ever seen of their relative while serving in New Guinea. Like thousands of other Japanaese, their relatives perished during the war, at the Japanese base at Wewak. The newspaper ran a follow up aritcle, about how three of the relatives had been located, and thier stories.
[ Learn about the three identified ]

What is ‘Pacific Ghosts’
Pacific Ghosts is a research body and series of CD-ROM & DVDs about WWII Pacific history, and wreckage that exisit to this day, and to interview WWII veterans, identify WWII photographs and return war relics. A collaboration between American Justin Taylan, creator of the Pacific Wreck Database website, and Australian historian Michael Claringbould, author and president of Aerothentic Publications His research and discoveries have resulted in the recovery of Japanese MIA aircrew from two Japanese 705th Kokutai G4M1 bombers, and in 1999 Michael was made an Honorary member of the Zero Fighter Pilots Association (proposed by former Japanese Ace Saburo Sakai) after discovering the wreckage of Southerland’s F-4F Wildcat that Sakai shot down on August 7, 1942. To learn more, visit Pacific Ghosts to contribute your story of photographs, contact info@pacificghosts.com

Special Thanks
We would like to thank the following people for their assistance making this story possible. First, Shoji, the reporter at the Sankei Shimbun who wrote the two articles. Also, Japanese liaison, Alfred Weinzierl, of Osaka, for contacting the Japanese media and bringing this story to the people of Japan, and meeting with the relatives. And, veteran Jack Heyn, and historians Henry Sakaida and Michael Claringbould for their recommendations about this type of research.

Read the Follow Up About Locating Relatives
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