Dear fellow divers
Find below very personal email correspondence from us to the family of the WWII Catalina pilot, Ens R. G. Tills who was buried with full honors on 23 March in Arlington National Cemetary.
This gives detailed information regarding the Catalina wreck and the artifacts which we are returning to his family.
We have very recently received a very personal email from the family about what this means to them. At this time, we are unable to say more until we have permission from his relatives. We will post more information about this when we are able to do so.
We at least hope by posting this on the PPD forum, that this will remain on record for others to remember.
Our wish is for historic wrecks to be protected in the Philippines and not be salvaged.
Dear Mr ******
Thank you for replying to our email. We are very pleased that we have been able to get in touch with you.
As long ago as December 2006, we were aware that two PBY-4s had been attacked and sunk on 8 December 1941, but did not have any contacts in the Malalag area at that time. We were also aware that Ens. Robert George Tills was listed as MIA after this attack and that he was the first US serviceman (of any branch of US forces in the PI's) to be killed in defence of the Philippines in WWII. Last year, we heard that the wreckage of an aircraft had been located in Malalag Bay and we were asked to visit the area with a friend, a Filipino dive instructor, who had some contacts there.
We first dived the area on June 5 2008 and spoke to the locals who told us that human remains had been found and had been taken to Manila for identification by the US Embassy.
Though you may have been given some information already, the following is based upon the official account of the event and interviews with locals and also from correspondence with the US Embassy. We do not intend that this should in any way be taken over and above what the US Navy account may be;
There were two Consolidated PBY-4 Catalinas (VP101, pat wing 10 - later to become the famous Black Cat Squadron)) that were attacked and shot down in the water on December 8 1941.
The attack was carried out from the Japanese carrier Ryujo as a pre-cursor to the invasion of Davao City. The attack came shortly before 8am in the morning - less than 8 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour. The aircraft were strafed and bombs were dropped. All crew were able to swim to land - except for Ens Tills who was killed whilst in the co-pilot seat. The Wiiliam B. Preston (seaplane tender) escaped and picked up the surviving crew later (they had been looked after by the natives at Malalag).
Around 1978, the first PBY-4 was 'dragged' intact to the shore and salvaged for scrap. It is unknown what happened to any artifacts, though it is likely that local officials and ranking Philippine armed forces personnel took anything of significance; this is what the locals told us. This salvage operation was not reported to the US Government. The second Cat was known about, but it was considered not cost effective to salvage the aircraft; - not a lot of money was made from salvaging the first PBY-4 wreck.
In August 2007, the wreck area was 'dragged' and the Ens Tills PBY-4 was found. Confirmation of the wreckage was made by pipe 'hookah' divers. Lines were attached to the front section and the cockpit (15 foot section) was raised and suspended under a boat then taken to the harbour side. Here, it was lifted from the water. US Navy markings were seen on the side of the recovered section of the airframe. As the cockpit was lifted onto the harbourside, the wreckage tipped and human remains were discovered. The locals described 'bones falling' from the wreckage. It was at this point that Ens Tills skull fell into the water. The locals became very frightened as they are very supersticious.
The Malalag Coastguard was present and immediately contacted the US Embassy in Manila. The Coastguard confiscated the remains and personal effects. The Embassy sent a team to Malalag to retrieve the remains and any other personal effects or artifacts. These included a 1911 Colt .45 and possibly .50/.30 cal guns (not sure about the guns). The US team offered a reward for retrieval of the skull. This was found in December 2007 and taken to Manila. From there, we assume that the remains and artifacts were take to Hawaii for JPAC to complete the identification process. We first read in late December that Ens Tills remains had been positively identified and that his funeral was to be held at Arlington in March this year.
As mentioned, we initially dived the area on 5 June 2008 and found some small pieces of wreckage which we photographed. For information, the wreckage lies in between 65 and 70ft of heavily silted water at GPS coordinates - N ***** E *****. We sent the photographs to the UK to be identified by a Consolidated Catalina expert. The parts of the wreckage we recovered included a bulkhead door handle with a part number and a fuel bleed tank - suggesting that they came from the area where the cockpit joined the fuselage (near where the engineer would sit). These parts showed considerable damage that was likely due to an explosion of some kind. Though we are not experts, it is likely that the PBY was hit by a bomb. This would also explain why the front section of the Catalina was seperated from the wings/fuselage and easily salvaged. The Cat expert confirmed that that the wreckage was indeed from a PBY-4.
After more visits to dive the wreckage (14 and 25 June), we gained the trust of the locals who told us that several items had been found and kept by local people. These included the anchor (now used by a local fisherman), bronze compass, bakelite searchlight casing, boat hook, bomb sights, 'jungle bolo' knife, aviator sunglasses and comb. We also get the feeling that other artifacts are being held, but that people are too frightened to come forward - they think that they will be in trouble with the US Government.
We were told that the wreckage of the cockpit had been taken to a junk yard in Digos City for scrap. The former Mayor of Malalag knew the name of the owner and a friend from that area was able to track him down. On 12 June 2008 we travelled to a junkyard in Digos and found the owner, ****. He told us that the entire wreckage had been cut up and sold. He was very suspicious of us and thought that he would be in trouble with the US Navy.
After sharing a cigarette and explaining that we just wanted to recover what we could for the right reasons, he opened up a little and brought us some cables and very small pieces of wreckage. He also told us that some items had been found when the silt had been power washed from the cockpit. Some items were taken by his nephew who lives in General Santos City. These items included the bomb sights, boat hook, comb and aviator sunglasses. We asked if he would contact his nephew with a view to him selling us the items.
Our intention was to make a small display and help raise funds for a memorial to be placed in Malalag Bay to commemorate the attack and honor Ens. Tills. We had made some internet searches to identify family members of Ens Tills, but as then his remains had not been identified, so we though it inappropriate to contact anyone at this time.
After much toing and froing, we travelled to General Santos and met his nephew one evening. He brought the avaitors with him and agreed to sell these to us. He described how he found the avaitors in the silt in exactly the same place where Ens. Tills remains were found. He told us that he was one of the original salvage divers (hookah diver).
He had cleaned the aviators and even tried to pawn them. Pawn shops had refused to take them due to the condition of the lenses which are salt water damaged due to 60+ years of immersion. Other than this, the frames are in excellent condition. I have attached two photographs that show the avaitors.
He also told us that he knew of others who had some items including a bolo knife, comb, boat hook and bomb sights. We managed to retrieve the knife and
boat hook which we also have in our possession. We unfortunately have been unable to get hold of the comb or bomb sights as yet. The entire process of contacting and arranging to meet people is extremely time consuming and frustrating - sure you can imagine.
The rest of the wreckage - incuding cockpit instrumentation - was sold to a scrap dealer in Davao and will be impossible to trace. The propellors were taken by ranking Philippine army personnel and are probably still in Davao somewhere - likely being kept as decorations.
As previously mentioned, we very recently became aware that Ens. Tills remains had been identified and that he will receive a funeral with full military honours in Arlington Cemetary on 23 March. We also became aware that his sister and fiancee are alive and well and we began taking steps to return the aviators to her.
We contacted the US Embassy and - by chance - spoke to the officer who was responsible for Ens Tills remains being brought from Malalag. There then ensued an email exchange with several US Forces representatives involved in the identification and burial arrangements at Arlington. We have arranged for *******, Lt Col, USAF, JUSMAG Operations or one of his representatives in Davao to personally hand over the aviators. He like ourselves, is is keen to return the aviators to his sister, Mrs Jean Aplin, as soon as possible.
We are sure that you and the rest of Ens Tills family will be very interested to know that the junkyard owner, ****, told us that there were hundreds of spent 30cal shell cases in the wreckage. Many were sold for scrap or taken by local children. We had a few given to us.
For sure, somebody was firing at the Japanese aircraft from the forward guns as the Japanese made their attack run on the PBYs moored in Malalag. Though circumstantial, it would appear that Ens Tills died while defending his boat and his men - a true hero. Again, I hope that you are able to pass this information onto his sister, fiancee and other relatives. Please note that we have made Lt Col ***** aware of this.
Finally, some good news came about as a result of our research; On 19 June 2008 we met the municipal government and legislative committee of Malalag and made some presentations using video and information about the attack including a presentation on Ens Tills from facts gleaned from the internet. We also played some footage of PBY Cats to bring home to them the events of that day. The people there simply did not know about the wreck and its importance.
As a result of this, we were able to raise awareness about the significance of the events of 8 December 1941 and to gain support from them to protect WWII wrecks remaining in the area from being salvaged and destroyed for the price of scrap metal.
My wife and I have long traditions of family members serving in the British armed forces in several wars (Crimean, First and Second World Wars). They served in many great battles including Ypres, Gallipoli, Operation Market Garden, North Africa and Burma. We have both lost several family members and as such we hold a deep respect for Ens Robert Tills and consider him a hero in every sense of the word.
We would very much like to pass on our sincerest condolences to you and his family and we wish you all well for 23 March.
Yours faithfully
. The doctor told my mother, "I'd like to send you home, but I can't until you name this boy." It was my father's idea to name me after his two cousins, Robert Tills and Robert Kappelman, who had been killed in the wars. I always knew I had been named after them, but had never heard or sought the stories of their lives and accomplishments...until now. I am humbled to be named after men of this caliber.[/FONT]
