1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Think of it as the Pearl Harbor of Japan. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,000 It is their most important base. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Take me back in time. 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,000 What would it have been like if I was standing on this dock in February of 1944? 5 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,000 You'd probably be running for cover. 6 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,000 That's when the U.S. launched Operation Hailstone. 7 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Wow. 8 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,000 We obviously routed the Japanese forces here, but not without a cost. 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,000 We're talking about 200 who are killed or missing. 10 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Nobody has found any of the U.S. planes. None of them. 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,000 We document the sites so that their human remains can ultimately be recovered. 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Those are submarine torpedoes. All mine were. 13 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,000 You found an eyewitness? 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Yes. 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,000 A living eyewitness? 16 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Yes. 17 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,000 We died here in service to our country, and we have to keep looking for them. 18 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 There could be bones, dog tags, anything. 19 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Hey guys, come here. 20 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,000 Dive, dive, dive. 21 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Okay, she's down. 22 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,000 Oh, wow. 23 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,000 That's a plane. This is unbelievable. 24 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,000 It's a good chance he's still in the plane. 25 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Wow, that is haunting. 26 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:28,000 December 7th, 1941, a day that still lives in infamy. 27 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:33,000 The U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor was blindsided by Japanese forces. 28 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,000 In only 90 tragic minutes, the course of history was forever altered. 29 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,000 The attack killed over 2,400 American service members, 30 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000 crippled our Navy, and pulled the country into World War II. 31 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 Few, however, know of America's ferocious counterattack. 32 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:59,000 In February 1944, a fleet of aircraft carriers launched Operation Hailstone, 33 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:05,000 a daring offensive targeting a crucial Japanese base on a remote collection of Pacific islands 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:11,000 called Truck Lagoon, where U.S. forces decimated Imperial Japan's fleet. 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 It was a critical victory, but it came at a cost. 36 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,000 More than 40 American planes were lost in the assault, 37 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,000 as well as 200 servicemen who went and remain missing in action. 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Not a single lost U.S. plane from Hailstone has been located, 39 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,000 but now a group of scientists and historians called Project Recover 40 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000 is determined to find the most valuable aircraft in the world. 41 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,000 They've designed our lost heroes and helped bring them home. 42 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Using cutting-edge sonar technology and groundbreaking artificial intelligence, 43 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,000 they're scanning the vast ocean floor for undiscovered wrecks. 44 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,000 And on land, they're making major breakthroughs, 45 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:02,000 locating actual eyewitnesses who could lead them to the remains of American POWs. 46 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,000 So all hands, man your battle stations, 47 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:10,000 and join me on a historic expedition into World War II's Pacific Theater, 48 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:15,000 seeking warriors who may be gone, but must never be forgotten. 49 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,000 My name is Josh Gates. 50 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:22,000 Hello! 51 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Explorer. 52 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,000 Here goes nothing. 53 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,000 Adventurer. 54 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Woo-hoo-hoo! 55 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,000 Oh, that's a long way down. 56 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations. 57 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,000 I'm alive for now! 58 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,000 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained, 59 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,000 I travel to the ends of the earth, investigating the greatest legends in history. 60 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Ready to rock and roll! 61 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,000 This is Expedition Unknown. 62 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:59,000 I begin my mission to find lost World War II heroes in an unlikely place, 63 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,000 a genteel Southern charmer, Charleston, South Carolina. 64 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Well, we are obviously a long way from the Pacific Theater 65 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:11,000 and the waters of Operation Hailstone, but there's a reason for that. 66 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 I'm here in Charleston to visit with one of the great heroes of that battle, 67 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 who retired here after completing active service in 1970. 68 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,000 She is one of America's most decorated veterans. 69 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:22,000 Her name? 70 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,000 The USS Yorktown. 71 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000 The USS Yorktown. 72 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,000 872 feet long and weighing in at 27,000 tons. 73 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Even in retirement, this aircraft carrier is an imposing sight. 74 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,000 On the flight deck, I meet professor of military history, Kyle Sinisi. 75 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,000 Dr. Sinisi, how you doing? 76 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,000 I'm doing fine. 77 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:49,000 I'm Josh. 78 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,000 Nice to meet you. 79 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:51,000 Pleasure. 80 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,000 I gotta say, this is an incredible ship. 81 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,000 This is an airport on the water. 82 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,000 And this was purpose built for World War II. 83 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,000 They actually started construction on the Yorktown six days before Pearl Harbor itself. 84 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Wow. 85 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:09,000 On December 7, 1941, Japan, like its infamous Axis partners, 86 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,000 struck first and declared war afterwards. 87 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,000 Everyone knows that Japan attacks us at Pearl Harbor. 88 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,000 I don't think as many people know why Japan attacked us at Pearl Harbor. 89 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Well, Japan had a destiny. 90 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Or at least they believe they had a destiny. 91 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,000 And that was to rule East Asia and Southeast Asia. 92 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,000 And what does taking us out at Pearl Harbor do? 93 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 They saw us as an obstacle to the conquest of all those islands between Japan and Australia. 94 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Right, because those are full of resources. 95 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,000 Yes. 96 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:42,000 Six months after Pearl Harbor, Japan has control over almost 6 million square miles of territory, 97 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,000 including the Philippines, Thailand, and Korea. 98 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,000 I think we have some understanding of what it takes to fight a land war. 99 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,000 But an ocean war is entirely different. 100 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,000 What do you need to be successful in the Pacific Theater? 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000 You need to be able to project power. 102 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:57,000 You need a Navy. 103 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:58,000 You need battleships. 104 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000 You need aircraft carriers, something like the USS Yorktown, 105 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,000 and the planes that she carried aboard. 106 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,000 You want to go take a look at them? 107 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Love to. 108 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,000 Yeah, come on. 109 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,000 Kyle takes me below deck to see some of the legendary aircraft 110 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,000 that carried out Operation Hale Stone. 111 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,000 Wow, this is extraordinary. 112 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Look at this. 113 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,000 They were high tech for their day. 114 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:32,000 At a time when using aircraft flown from carriers was a radical new approach to warfare. 115 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,000 Josh, here, I think we got an airplane you're quite familiar with. 116 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,000 Yes, this is the Avenger, right? 117 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,000 I actually had a chance a few years ago to take a ride in one of these, which was a huge thrill. 118 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,000 Unbelievable. 119 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,000 This is sick. 120 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:47,000 This thing's a beast. 121 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:54,000 It is a torpedo bomber, and one of the things that really tips you off to how big this thing is are the folding wings. 122 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,000 Right, that's the only way this thing can fit on an aircraft carrier, right? 123 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Pretty much. 124 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,000 Incredible. 125 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:06,000 Along with the Avenger, Kyle shows me other planes that flew at Truck Lagoon, including the Hellcat, Corsair, 126 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000 and the SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber. 127 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,000 It was one heck of a rugged and effective aircraft during the war, 128 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,000 although many of the aircrew thought that SBD stood for slow but deadly. 129 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:22,000 And it would eventually wind up sinking more Japanese shipping than anything else that we had in our inventory. 130 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,000 Wow, so very successful plane. 131 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Absolutely. 132 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:36,000 From 1941 to 1943, American planes launching from carriers like the Yorktown were used to roll back Japan's advance across the Pacific, 133 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,000 in places like Midway and Guadalcanal. 134 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:48,000 By February of 1944, we're closing in on Japan itself, but a major obstacle remains, the Japanese naval base at Truck Lagoon. 135 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:56,000 And let's talk about how this and these other planes were used at this place, Truck, Operation Hailstone. 136 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:57,000 Yeah, Truck Lagoon. 137 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,000 It's hard to find on a map. 138 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:03,000 But think of it about 2,000 miles southeast of Japan. 139 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,000 How important was this base to the Japanese? 140 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Oh, it is their most important base. 141 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,000 Think of it as the Pearl Harbor of Japan. 142 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 You could find up to 60% of their combined fleet here. 143 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,000 So take me through it. What happens? 144 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:29,000 We put together one of the largest naval forces ever assembled, nine aircraft carriers, seven battleships, dozens of auxiliary vessels, and ultimately, 560 aircraft. 145 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,000 We fly in and we will sink dozens of their ships. 146 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,000 We will knock out 275 of the aircraft. 147 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:44,000 And we will kill up to 4,600 of their soldiers, sailor, and airman. 148 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:45,000 Wow. 149 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,000 And US losses? 150 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,000 They're fairly minimal. 151 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:53,000 We're talking about 42 aircraft and about 200 who are killed or missing. 152 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,000 We have a lot of these guys who are just simply MIA missing. 153 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,000 That is a characteristic of all of our casualties. 154 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,000 And especially in the Pacific because we're there in planes and then we're gone. 155 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,000 Our nation made a promise to these missing servicemen. 156 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,000 No man left behind. 157 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,000 And now a new effort is underway to make good on that promise. 158 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:20,000 Well, I'm headed out to truck to meet with a group that's trying to recover some of these lost planes and hopefully bring some closure to these MIA stories. 159 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Well, thank you and good luck. It's a long flight out there. 160 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:33,000 This mission requires a journey of more than 8,000 miles from Charleston to the middle of the Pacific. 161 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:44,000 It begins with a two hour flight through Chicago and then nine hours across the US and thousands of miles of ocean to a critical layover on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 162 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:53,000 It is a few minutes before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941. 163 00:09:53,000 --> 00:10:01,000 Just another sunny day here at the US Naval Base in Pearl Harbor and then the distant sound of engines. 164 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:13,000 Hundreds of Japanese planes launched from six aircraft carriers in one of the most audacious surprise attacks in history. 165 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Almost our entire Pacific fleet is gathered here and caught unaware. 166 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:27,000 Our aircraft on nearby runways are also sitting ducks and are quickly destroyed. 167 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,000 In fact, only six US planes will make it in the air to repel the first wave. 168 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:39,000 19 American vessels in the harbor are damaged or destroyed, including eight battleships. 169 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,000 But the USS Arizona takes the most lethal blow. 170 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:52,000 An armor piercing bomb penetrates the ship's ammunition stores, setting off an explosion that will kill 1177 men. 171 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:58,000 A day later, 134,000 Americans would enlist in the military. 172 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:11,000 In 1962, a memorial was built over the ghostly remains of the wreck. 173 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,000 Today, it's a hallowed tomb. 174 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:25,000 A lasting reminder of the greatest sacrifice our servicemen and women make for this country. 175 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:41,000 The attack on Pearl Harbor decimated our Pacific fleet and yet within two years, the US roared back and turned the tables. 176 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,000 Striking Japan at their most critical base. 177 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:53,000 There's only one way to get there, aboard a famous route that's considered the least direct flight on Earth. 178 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,000 Welcome to the Island Hopper. Here we go. 179 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:05,000 This is United Flight 154, originated by Continental in 1968 as a vital mail and supply run. 180 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,000 It's a great way to earn those valuable frequent flyer miles. 181 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000 Coolest airplane route ever. 182 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:25,000 The 20-hour circuit departs from Honolulu and hops across the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Caroline Islands, and onto Guam before going back to Hawaii to start all over again. 183 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Four pilots are aboard this 737, as well as, and I'm not kidding, critical spare parts and a dedicated mechanic, since the islands have neither. 184 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,000 Oh, and there's even an additional navigation instrument in the cockpit. 185 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:52,000 The first leg is a jaunty little hop over a stretch of ocean nearly as wide as the United States, which requires a slight watch adjustment. 186 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:59,000 Alright, we are approaching the international date line. It is about 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Wait for it. 187 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:09,000 It is now 10 a.m. on Thursday. We just lost 24 hours. The worst part is, this is true, it's one of my camera guy's birthdays on Wednesday. 188 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 God, what a rip. 189 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:23,000 The first speck of land is the 3.7 square mile island of Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, where we're on the ground just long enough to take in the sights. 190 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,000 Welcome to Majuro! 191 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,000 It's beautiful here. 192 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,000 Okay, let's go. 193 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:36,000 The next destination is only an hour away, the island of Kwajalan. 194 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:46,000 It was one of the first Japanese territories to fall to Allied forces. Unfortunately, I don't get to disembark here because it's now a top secret missile test site. 195 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,000 Okay, moving on. 196 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:07,000 Another hour to the volcanic island of Kosarai, where we touched down just long enough to take off again for another hour in the air as we fly to the stunning capital of Micronesia. 197 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Alright, we've got about 10 minutes to take in the beautiful tropical island of Panaphe. 198 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,000 Island Hopper Pro Tip, always keep an eye on your pilot. 199 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,000 Come on, let's go. 200 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Coming! 201 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,000 Jeez. 202 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 Short one. We're almost there. 203 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,000 Thank you. 204 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:39,000 Next stop is where I get off, the remote truck lagoon, though today it's known as Chuk. 205 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,000 Turns out that in the 40s we got the name wrong and it's stuck. 206 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,000 Chuk, that's all, should be coming into view. 207 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,000 Wow, look at that. 208 00:14:54,000 --> 00:15:07,000 However you pronounce it, Chuk is a stunner, a 145-mile diameter atoll, a circular barrier reef protecting an 800-square-mile lagoon with 16 tropical islands. 209 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000 We're landing on this one, Weno. 210 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:18,000 On a runway built by Imperial Japan, and it's here that our tour of paradise gets a little bumpy. 211 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,000 Hey ladies and gentlemen, knocking straight ahead is the airport. We'll be landing shortly. 212 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:31,000 The airfield here is perfect for World War II fighter planes, commercial airliners, not so much. 213 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:38,000 In fact, in 2018, an Air New Guinea 737 shorted the runway and ended up in almost 100 feet of water. 214 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,000 Now, it's my turn to roll the dice. 215 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:49,000 Next stop is either truck or truck lagoon. 216 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,000 Brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes. 217 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:07,000 I'm flying over the Pacific Islands of Micronesia, hunting for the remains of missing inaction servicemen from World War II. 218 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:16,000 We're coming in to land on a short airstrip originally built by the Japanese before the age of jet airliners, which means we need to slow down fast. 219 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,000 Brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes. 220 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,000 We hope you enjoy your time in Chuk or wherever your travels take you. 221 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,000 Well, we're here. 222 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:47,000 Happy to not be in the water just yet, I disembark from an awesome flight aboard the island hopper and am immediately transported into the past. 223 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,000 World War II may have ended decades ago, but here the wounds are still fresh. 224 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:04,000 Ghostly shells of Japanese ships, derelict structures and rusted out artillery batteries dot the shores. 225 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:09,000 Hidden in the depths lie the remains of American servicemen and their aircraft. 226 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:16,000 I head down to a dock to meet the team from Project Recover that aims to find these heroes and help bring them home. 227 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,000 Hey guys, how are you? 228 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,000 Hey, John. 229 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000 Hey. 230 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,000 What's going on? 231 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000 Very good to see you again as well. 232 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,000 Last time I saw you, we were on a different island off the coast of California. 233 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:25,000 At a cap island. 234 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,000 That's right. 235 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:32,000 I first worked with Colin on the hunt for a World War II torpedo bomber lost off the coast of California. 236 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:37,000 And now, half a world away, I'm meeting more members of this remarkable team. 237 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:41,000 And Josh, I want to introduce you to Mark Moline, the co-founder of Project Recover. 238 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:42,000 Great to meet you, Mark. 239 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,000 And Dan Davis, the lead archaeologist for this mission. 240 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,000 Awesome. 241 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,000 Project Recover's mission takes them all over the world. 242 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:57,000 To date, they have helped repatriate more than 17 MIAs and located more than 65 World War II aircraft. 243 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,000 And so let's talk about your mission here in Chuk. 244 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,000 This was once known as Truck Lagoon. 245 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:08,000 And this island here and the other islands we see out here, these were all occupied by the Japanese. 246 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,000 There would have been Japanese ships and planes all over the place here, right? 247 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:12,000 Yeah. 248 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,000 This was a major Japanese naval base that we actually didn't even know that much about. 249 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:21,000 The guys who were flying in here on 17 February were really flying into a mystery. 250 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:27,000 That mystery turned out to be the most formidable Japanese naval base in the Pacific. 251 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:33,000 Within the barrier reef of the Atoll, the Japanese transformed the islands of truck, 252 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,000 along with dozens of military buildings. 253 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:43,000 They built five airfields supporting hundreds of aircraft, including a vast fleet of deadly Japanese zeros. 254 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,000 There were also facilities for sea planes and submarines. 255 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:55,000 And the lagoon itself often had as many as a thousand ships, all defended by anti-aircraft guns on shore. 256 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Take me back in time. 257 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,000 What would it have been like if I was standing on the stock in February of 1944? 258 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:05,000 Yeah, if you're here 17 February 1944, you'd probably be running for cover. 259 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,000 That's when the U.S. launched Operation Hailstone, a major carrier-borne attack on Truck Lagoon. 260 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:18,000 In a reverse of Pearl Harbor, it was now the Japanese who never saw it coming. 261 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:25,000 And our motto of carriers, battleships, destroyers and subs descended on truck in a series of attacks. 262 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:34,000 And our flyboys got the drop on enemy forces, sinking more than 50 ships and destroying over 400 planes. 263 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:41,000 And in terms of the numbers, we obviously routed the Japanese forces here, but not without a cost, right? 264 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:46,000 So between Hailstone and the subsequent operations, how many U.S. personnel went missing here? 265 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,000 We lost 42 planes and around 200 people. 266 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,000 200 people are missing here. 267 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:56,000 And presumably, many of those remains are sunk out here in the atoll, yes? 268 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,000 Now, there are of course known wrecks out here. 269 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 The Japanese lost a ton of ships in this attack, many of which are plotted out here. 270 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,000 What about these American planes though? 271 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,000 Up until now, nobody has found any of the U.S. planes. 272 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,000 None of them? 273 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,000 No. 274 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,000 Wow. 275 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,000 That's incredible. 276 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:12,000 That's remarkable. 277 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,000 Somewhere in these waters lie the lost heroes of Hailstone. 278 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:22,000 Their stories untold and remains unclaimed almost 80 years later. 279 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,000 It's a big mission. 280 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,000 Where do we begin? 281 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:31,000 We have over five years now conducted archival research of action reports, war diaries, 282 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:33,000 declassified documents from World War II. 283 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:37,000 And in fact, we actually have some targets to get started with already. 284 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:38,000 We have targets. 285 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,000 What we do in our mission today is to go figure out what those are. 286 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:42,000 Okay, should we get on the water? 287 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Sounds like a great idea. 288 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,000 Either way, please. 289 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:54,000 While it may be called a lagoon, the waters here are about the size of Rhode Island. 290 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:59,000 In 2019, the project recover team deployed cutting edge autonomous underwater vehicles 291 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:04,000 to sonar scan sections of the lagoon that had never been searched. 292 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000 They got back promising data. 293 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Unfortunately, COVID stopped their mission short. 294 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:15,000 Now, we have an incredible opportunity to interrogate these targets for the very first time. 295 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,000 How many targets would you say there are that are promising? 296 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,000 Ten, ten or twelve. 297 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:21,000 Can we take a look at the data? 298 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Sure. 299 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,000 Yeah, here? 300 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:24,000 Yep. 301 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,000 This is the first one that we're thinking about diving on today. 302 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,000 So something there for sure, very distinct shape. 303 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Yeah, so we call this rabbit ears based on previous experience. 304 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:34,000 It looks like a propeller. 305 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000 We're one of the propellers vertical. 306 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000 It's casting a vertical shadow. 307 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:43,000 And the other one sort of casting this angular shape and it definitely looks like this sort of rabbit. 308 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,000 Right. 309 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,000 So looks like a propeller. 310 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:46,000 It does. 311 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,000 Might not be a propeller, but that's what we hope it is. 312 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,000 Yeah. 313 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000 Okay, let's go see what it is. 314 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:52,000 Okay. 315 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:03,000 We motor about a half a mile across the lagoon toward our mystery sonar hit until we arrive 316 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,000 at the coordinates that Mark has waited years to investigate. 317 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,000 Okay, we're getting to the right. 318 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,000 Okay, slow down. 319 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,000 When our vessel is directly on top of the target. 320 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,000 Down. 321 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,000 Colin tosses a weighted shot line over the bow. 322 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,000 This will be our guide down to the target and our lifeline back to the boat. 323 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:35,000 Dan and I drop in while Mark monitors the comms topside. 324 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,000 Okay, I'm following the line down. 325 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,000 Down. 326 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,000 Down we go. 327 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:54,000 Hopefully we nailed the position as the saying goes off by an inch off by a mile and at this depth over 100 feet. 328 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,000 Our bottom time is limited to about 15 minutes to avoid decompression sickness. 329 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,000 This is topside. 330 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,000 What are the conditions down there over? 331 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,000 This ability is okay. 332 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,000 Maybe 20, 25 feet. 333 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,000 Time is tight. 334 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,000 So we drop down fast, making a beeline to the ocean floor. 335 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Sandy bottom, fairly featureless. 336 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,000 Nothing yet. 337 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Josh, why don't you swim west for a little bit? 338 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,000 I'll stay here with the shot line. 339 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000 Copy that. 340 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:25,000 I'll let you know if I see anything. 341 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,000 We're going to look around. 342 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,000 Topside copy. 343 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,000 We got less than 10 minutes down here to find this thing. 344 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:40,000 Oh, Dan, I think I got something. 345 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,000 You see that dark shape right there. 346 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:44,000 Right there. 347 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 Topside, we got something here. 348 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000 Something big. 349 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,000 All right. 350 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,000 Dan, get over here. 351 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,000 Take a look at that. 352 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,000 Topside, we got something here. 353 00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,000 All right. 354 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,000 What does it look like? 355 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:02,000 Can't tell yet. 356 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,000 Swim it over to it. 357 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:10,000 I'm with Project Recover on a mission to find missing World War II airmen in truck lagoon Micronesia. 358 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:16,000 100 feet down, we're investigating a promising sonar target that looked like a bent propeller. 359 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,000 Something big. 360 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,000 Not a propeller. 361 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,000 It's an anchor. 362 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000 This is huge. 363 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,000 It's massive. 364 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,000 We have a massive anchor down here. 365 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,000 It's got the standard flukes. 366 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,000 Looks like a massive Admiralty anchor. 367 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,000 It's insane that this is just sitting down here. 368 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,000 This is a big anchor. 369 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,000 It's a big anchor. 370 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000 It's a big anchor. 371 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,000 It's insane that this is just sitting down here. 372 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:49,000 This is period though. 373 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,000 Yes, World War II. 374 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,000 I can definitely be from the Imperial Japanese Navy. 375 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,000 I wonder if this was let go from a ship during the attack. 376 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,000 Maybe trying to escape could be. 377 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:09,000 As the Allied Armada descended on truck lagoon, Japanese ships fled, cutting anchor to escape the bombardment. 378 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,000 That's great. 379 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,000 Take as many photos as you can and come back up to the surface. 380 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:26,000 The anchor is an important find, giving battlefield archaeologists and historians another puzzle piece to reconstruct the story of Operation Hale Stone. 381 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,000 Monster anchor down there. 382 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,000 Nice job. 383 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Huge. 384 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,000 We got one stone on our target down. 385 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000 Yep. 386 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,000 Several more to go. 387 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,000 That's right. 388 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,000 We're back on the boat. 389 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:56,000 We return to our sonar targets with barely enough time to dry off before we're on top of another one. 390 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,000 So next target, what do we got? 391 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,000 For the next target, I think we should focus on this debris field. 392 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000 Looks to be about 25 feet in length. 393 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,000 Now, when you look at that, you don't immediately think that's an airplane. 394 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,000 No. 395 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000 But sometimes that's what this stuff looks like, right? 396 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,000 Yeah. 397 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:17,000 These planes sometimes hit the surface at high speeds, and so what you have is a distributed debris pile. 398 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,000 That could be an aircraft. 399 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:19,000 Yeah. 400 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,000 And then I can't help but notice what's this weird thing over here. 401 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:27,000 We have what looks like a man-made object about 150 feet away from that debris pile. 402 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,000 Long shadow, which means it has some height. 403 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,000 And it's also about 10 feet in diameter. 404 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,000 10 feet in diameter. 405 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:33,000 Okay, so two for one. 406 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000 We hit one target and then rush over to the other. 407 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,000 Yes, we could. 408 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,000 It'll have to be a quick swim, but I think we can do it. 409 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,000 Okay. 410 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,000 We circle back around to the coordinates, 411 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,000 release another shot line, 412 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000 and waste no time dropping down. 413 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,000 Okay, passing 30 feet. 414 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,000 Visibility is deteriorating a little. 415 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,000 We are just passing 50 feet. 416 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,000 Coming up on 80 feet, should be able to see the bottom here soon. 417 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,000 Holy s***, we are right on top of something. 418 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:35,000 We threw that shot line right into the round target. 419 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,000 Dan, what is this thing? 420 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,000 I have no idea. 421 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,000 Let me drop down and take a look. 422 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,000 Copy that. 423 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:43,000 Is it wreckage? 424 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,000 It looked round on the sonar. 425 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,000 Over. 426 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,000 It's definitely round. 427 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,000 It does not look aviation at all. 428 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:54,000 Ah, I got it. 429 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,000 What is it? 430 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,000 It's a mooring buoy. 431 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000 So what would this have been used for? 432 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,000 The Japanese didn't build a lot of big docks around here, 433 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 so the big ships would come in and tie off, 434 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,000 and they would offload supplies that way. 435 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,000 Okay, so impressive, but not what we're looking for. 436 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,000 One sonar mystery is solved. 437 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,000 Now we quickly swim toward the target that looks like a debris field. 438 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,000 The heading is 115. 439 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:30,000 Okay. 440 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,000 Okay. 441 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,000 Dan drags the shot line behind us 442 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000 so we can quickly find our way back to the boat. 443 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,000 It's getting deeper here. 444 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,000 Yeah, we're going to need to surface soon. 445 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,000 I can see something up ahead. 446 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,000 Hold on, we've got a dark mass ahead. 447 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,000 Does it look man-made? 448 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,000 Looks natural to me. 449 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,000 I don't see any metal. 450 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,000 It's definitely geological. 451 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,000 So we've got a World War II mooring, 452 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,000 and what looks like a natural formation. 453 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,000 Dan, you ready to go? 454 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:03,000 Let's do it. 455 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,000 Yeah, let's start making our way up. 456 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,000 The anchor and the mooring paint a picture of where Japanese forces 457 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,000 were positioned during hailstone 458 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,000 and where American pilots may have attacked. 459 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:20,000 This valuable intel may ultimately aid the search for MIAs. 460 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,000 Okay, two more targets down. 461 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,000 All right. 462 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:25,000 Plenty more to go. 463 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:26,000 Nice shot, guys. 464 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,000 When did the beers come out? 465 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,000 When we get back. 466 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,000 Oh, okay. 467 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:32,000 I wasn't sure. 468 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,000 With the sun setting, we motor back across the lagoon 469 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,000 and return to port. 470 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,000 By the light of a new day, we're back out on the water. 471 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,000 To find missing planes, Project Recover uses more than just sonar. 472 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,000 They also rely on something even more powerful, local knowledge. 473 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,000 Josh, I want to introduce you to Mason Fritz. 474 00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,000 Mason, hello. 475 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:00,000 Hello. 476 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,000 Mason is our local investigator here in Chuuk. 477 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,000 He is an essential part of the Project Recover team 478 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,000 because there are more than a dozen populated islands here in Chuuk, 479 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,000 and we need to be able to liaise with local people 480 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,000 in order to get local stories about American aircraft 481 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,000 or personnel who might have washed ashore. 482 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,000 Got it. 483 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,000 So today we're heading to Fonipongas, 484 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,000 which is another island in the Atoll here, 485 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,000 where Mason has uncovered a story that's connected to an MIA. 486 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:25,000 I found an eyewitness. 487 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,000 You found an eyewitness? 488 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:27,000 Yes. 489 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:28,000 Okay. 490 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:31,000 An eyewitness account of an American MIA 491 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,000 would be a massive step forward for Project Recover. 492 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,000 Of course, at the time of Hailstone, 493 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,000 all of the people of Chuuk were unwilling eyewitnesses 494 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,000 to a war they had no desire in waging. 495 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:46,000 The Japanese took control of these islands in World War I, right? 496 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,000 Yes. 497 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,000 And what was that relationship like between the Japanese 498 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:50,000 and the Chuukese people? 499 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,000 There was a very good relationship between the Japanese and the Chuukese 500 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,000 because the Japanese were here not for military purpose. 501 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:02,000 They were here to turn this place into a commercial site. 502 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,000 When the Japanese start building up this area for military, 503 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,000 that's when the hardships start coming in for the Chuukese. 504 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:09,000 Right. 505 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:10,000 And it was very hard, right? 506 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000 It was very hard. 507 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,000 As the war ramped up, many Chuukese were forced out of their homes 508 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,000 to make room for tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers. 509 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:23,000 Facing food shortages and forced to work for the war effort, 510 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:27,000 it is estimated that more than a thousand local islanders died, 511 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,000 victims of a war they were simply living in the middle of. 512 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:35,000 And so how do the people of Chuuk look at Operation Hailstone 513 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,000 and the American assault on the Japanese forces here? 514 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000 They're really thankful because a lot of the atrocities they face 515 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:49,000 during that buildup of military all the way until the attack on the lagoon, 516 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,000 it's like freedom for them. 517 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:54,000 You know, the attack really liberates the locals. 518 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,000 Not only that, but it forges a bond that continues 519 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:01,000 with many Micronesians now serving in the U.S. armed forces. 520 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,000 We have more young men and women from Micronesia 521 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:09,000 are joining the U.S. military per capita than many other states 522 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,000 in the United States. 523 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,000 Wow. 524 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,000 This relationship has really endured. 525 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,000 We're hoping that our eyewitness can continue that spirit of cooperation. 526 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,000 To talk to him, we're motoring about 30 minutes from Weno 527 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,000 to the western side of the Atoll and the island of Funapongas. 528 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:34,000 We arrive at the shores of the lush island and tie up at an old Japanese dock. 529 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000 For most of us, World War II is history, 530 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:41,000 but for the people living here, it's still eerily present. 531 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:47,000 Children play in the remains of war machinery used three generations before. 532 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,000 But the people of Funapongas remember, including Mason's witness, 533 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,000 Ontario Rauwit. 534 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,000 Hi, I'm Josh. 535 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,000 Ontario. 536 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,000 Ontario, nice to meet you. 537 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:57,000 Colin. 538 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,000 Ontario, I understand you've got a story about something that was 539 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,000 witnessed in World War II. 540 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:06,000 I heard that there was an American airman who came to this island on a raft. 541 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,000 My grandfather was a man who was a man of the word. 542 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000 My grandfather knew a little bit of English. 543 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000 That's why they brought the airman to him. 544 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,000 And those people that brought him here, did they see a plane crash? 545 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,000 They said that they saw a crash between here and Udott. 546 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,000 And Mason, Udott is this island? 547 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,000 Yes, Udott is this island. 548 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,000 So somewhere in between these two islands is a missing plane? 549 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,000 I can't believe it. 550 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,000 This is incredible. 551 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:45,000 An American airman who was brought to my grandfather by some other native 552 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,000 people from this island. 553 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:51,000 I'm interviewing the grandson of a local man who aided a downed American 554 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,000 airman during World War II. 555 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:58,000 So your grandfather was able to protect this guy for how long? 556 00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,000 Four couple of days. 557 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,000 And then what, the Japanese found out? 558 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,000 The Japanese came to my grandfather's house. 559 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:08,000 They forced their way inside the house and they beat up my grandfather 560 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:12,000 to the American guy away from my grandfather's house. 561 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,000 Wow. 562 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:14,000 Incredible. 563 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:18,000 And so considering it was a risk, why do you think your grandfather tried to protect him? 564 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:25,000 During that time, the Turkish people were treated by the Japanese very, very badly. 565 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,000 The people of Duke, they knew that the American would save them. 566 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,000 And what about a name? 567 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,000 What did your grandfather call him? 568 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,000 The name of the airman was Frederick. 569 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:35,000 Frederick? 570 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,000 Frederick. 571 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,000 Oh my God. 572 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:38,000 Frederick? 573 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:39,000 Yes, there is definitely a Frederick. 574 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,000 There is. 575 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:41,000 Oh yes. 576 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,000 Among the missing. 577 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,000 Among the missing in truck. 578 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,000 I mean, we know these names back and forth, 199 of them. 579 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:46,000 Right. 580 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,000 And I know one of them is definitely Frederick. 581 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,000 There is a Frederick. 582 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,000 There's a Frederick. 583 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:50,000 Frederick McKenzie. 584 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000 And I'm shocked to hear that this was Frederick. 585 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000 It's the only Frederick that's missing. 586 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,000 Is it a single pilot aircraft that he's in? 587 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,000 No, it's actually, it's an Avenger. 588 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,000 It's a three crewman torpedo bomber. 589 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,000 He's in an Avenger. 590 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,000 Wow. 591 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,000 And were there any other crewmen on the life raft? 592 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,000 No, he was alone. 593 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:06,000 Just a single guy. 594 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,000 So that means that in this strait between these two islands, 595 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,000 there may be an Avenger and two crewmen. 596 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,000 And to hear that possibly he crashed in between these two 597 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,000 islands, it's a huge break. 598 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,000 This is incredible. 599 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,000 Thank you so much for sharing this story. 600 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,000 Really, it's incredible. 601 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,000 Thank you. 602 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,000 Gunner Frederick McKenzie was stationed on the USS Bunker Hill 603 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:38,000 as part of the VT 17 torpedo squadron. 604 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:42,000 Thanks to entero, we now know how his story of service ends, 605 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,000 not at the bottom of truck Lagoon, 606 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,000 but as a POW who never came home. 607 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,000 As for the rest of the crew, 608 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:53,000 Radio man Stanley S Stump and pilot Newton B. 609 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,000 Berks may still be out there waiting to be found. 610 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,000 To see if we can locate them, 611 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:04,000 we get back on the water and link up with Mark and two other 612 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,000 members of the project recover team who are bringing 613 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,000 cutting edge tech to scan our new target area. 614 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,000 Okay, so let's talk about this sonar. 615 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:14,000 I assume that's this thing here. 616 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:15,000 Yeah, that's what we got. 617 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:16,000 Can we see it? 618 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,000 Yeah, let's see it. 619 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,000 Let's go. 620 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000 I feel like a kid on Christmas as project recover breaks out 621 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,000 their latest AUV. 622 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:26,000 Look at this thing. 623 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:27,000 This is insane. 624 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:28,000 What are we looking at here? 625 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000 So this is an autonomous underwater vehicle. 626 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,000 We're on AUV. 627 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,000 I remember the last time I worked with project recover, 628 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,000 you had an AUV named Barry. 629 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,000 What's this one called? 630 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,000 This one's called Killer and its partner is Hunter. 631 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,000 Hunter Killer. 632 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:41,000 Killer? 633 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,000 Oh, you've really stepped things up here. 634 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,000 You're not fooling around anymore. 635 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,000 If I were to go online and pick up one of these bad boys, 636 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,000 this would set me back about how much? 637 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:49,000 About 700K. 638 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,000 $700,000. 639 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,000 You get pre-shipping though. 640 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:53,000 Oh, that's good. 641 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,000 I would hope so. 642 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,000 We have some amazing innovation here. 643 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000 One of them is the INS here, 644 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,000 the inertial navigation system, 645 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,000 which is analogous to a cruise missile underwater. 646 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:04,000 And by autonomous, 647 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:07,000 we mean this thing is not attached to the boat in any way. 648 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,000 It's on its own. 649 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:09,000 Yeah, it's fully independent. 650 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,000 It's basically a mini submarine. 651 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:12,000 Yeah, exactly. 652 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,000 So we give it a path to follow, 653 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,000 kind of like mowing the lawn, 654 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,000 rows back and forth, 655 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:17,000 and it follows those. 656 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,000 And in terms of today's mission, 657 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,000 what's our plan? 658 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,000 We're going to scan the sea floor between the two islands. 659 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:24,000 We'll be out about six hours 660 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:25,000 and get about a mile, 661 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:26,000 square mile of coverage. 662 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,000 And really, this is not just you searching here. 663 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,000 Probably nobody's searched here before, right? 664 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,000 Yeah, I think it's safe to say 665 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,000 that nobody's seen the sea floor here. 666 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:34,000 All right, let's get this thing in the water. 667 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,000 All right. 668 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,000 You're going ahead there. 669 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,000 And it's away. 670 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:45,000 Look at that. 671 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:46,000 There she goes. 672 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,000 Dive, dive, dive. 673 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:50,000 Okay, she's down. 674 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,000 The AUV, affectionately known as Killer, 675 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:56,000 is in the water. 676 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000 And it begins its six-hour program 677 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,000 scanning through our search zone. 678 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,000 Normally, I take this time to read 679 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000 or let's not get ourselves sleep, 680 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,000 but instead, Mark tells me to suit up for a dive. 681 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,000 I'm not sure what's beneath us, 682 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,000 but I'm certainly intrigued to find out. 683 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,000 Josh, there's something I want you to see. 684 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:30,000 Copy that. 685 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,000 I'm right behind you. 686 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,000 Josh, do you see that bottom cut you, DeVille? 687 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,000 Yeah, I'm almost on top of it. 688 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:44,000 That's not the sea floor, 689 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:45,000 and that's the side of a ship. 690 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:47,000 Side of a ship? 691 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:48,000 How is that possible? 692 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:49,000 That's all I can see. 693 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:57,000 It's enormous. 694 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:58,000 Oh, my word. 695 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:06,000 Josh, you're hovering above the Hayon Maroon, 696 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,000 the largest wreck in Trefligud. 697 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,000 There it is on the side. 698 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:12,000 Look at that. 699 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:13,000 Hayon Maroon. 700 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,000 This started out as a huge passenger liner. 701 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,000 It got converted to a submarine tender during the war. 702 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:29,000 Almost twice as long as the Statue of Liberty is tall, 703 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:32,000 this behemoth was sent to the bottom of truck Lagoon 704 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:35,000 by two pairs of bombs from American aircraft. 705 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,000 That's the propeller. 706 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,000 Yeah, it's about as big as my house. 707 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,000 Oh, man, it's terrifying. 708 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,000 Yeah, the propeller gives you an idea 709 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,000 of how big this ship actually is. 710 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,000 I'm going to go over there. 711 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000 Where do you see the inside of this? 712 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,000 All right, here we go. 713 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,000 Remember, she's right on our port side, 714 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,000 so it's easy to get this oriented. 715 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:13,000 I'll stay close. 716 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:16,000 We swim along a now sideways deck that stretches the length of the ship. 717 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,000 It's disorienting as what feels like the floor below is a wall 718 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,000 dotted with windows leading to the ship's interior. 719 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,000 Yeah, do you see those long tubes beneath you? 720 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:29,000 I do. 721 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:30,000 What are those? 722 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,000 Those are spare ships. 723 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,000 They're just the same size. 724 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,000 They're just the same size. 725 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,000 They're just the same size. 726 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000 They're just the same size. 727 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:41,000 Yeah, what are those? 728 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,000 Those are spare submarine periscopes. 729 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,000 Unbelievable. 730 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:48,000 That is crazy. 731 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,000 Again, there's pitch black in here. 732 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:58,000 It's so eerie everywhere you point your light. 733 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:02,000 You just see twisted metal going off into the darkness. 734 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,000 Yeah, be careful what you touch. 735 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,000 Mark, what are these cylinders? 736 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,000 Those are submarine torpedoes. 737 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,000 Now, what do you touch those? 738 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,000 Mark, are those torpedoes live? 739 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,000 As the host of Expedition Unknown, 740 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,000 I've been to over 100 different countries. 741 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,000 I've seen everything from the base camp of Everest 742 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,000 and the moai of Easter Island 743 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,000 to the Amazonian rainforest 744 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,000 and the frozen tundra of Siberia. 745 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,000 But on the remote island of Kosarai, 746 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,000 I'm finally going someplace I've never been. 747 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,000 I've waited my whole life to look in there. 748 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,000 Where the bags go? 749 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,000 All right, this one is all beer. 750 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:06,000 Be careful with that one, all right? 751 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,000 You can have a few. 752 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,000 Precious cargo. 753 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:16,000 Mark, are those torpedoes live? 754 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,000 Yeah, everything in there is live. 755 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,000 Oh, my word. 756 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:23,000 I'm in Micronesia's Truck Lagoon, 757 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:27,000 searching for the wreckage of American planes from World War II. 758 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:30,000 A massive Japanese ship called the Haiyan Maru 759 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,000 has lain here since 1944, 760 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:36,000 along with its still live ordinance. 761 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:38,000 All right, I'm giving that a white birth. 762 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:41,000 Okay, maybe we're done in this room. 763 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,000 Let's keep moving. 764 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:52,000 Jots, I wanted to show you this to give you a sense of scale. 765 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:55,000 This is only one of 50 ships 766 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,000 that went down in Truck Lagoon during the war. 767 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:01,000 And the targets we're looking for are a lot smaller 768 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,000 and a lot more defined. 769 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,000 All right, should we go try and find them? 770 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:09,000 Yeah, let's go. Let's do it. 771 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,000 We return Ostruck to the vessel, 772 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:24,000 where the AUV has finished running its long sonar sweep 773 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,000 through the search zone. 774 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,000 There it is. Oh, she's up, okay. 775 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:33,000 Now it's time to collect the drone and review the data. 776 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,000 Okay, one, two, three. 777 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:37,000 Okay. Okay. 778 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,000 Hopefully we have some data. 779 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:40,000 Into the dock. 780 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,000 Nice job. Nice work. 781 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,000 Hours later, back at Project Recovers, 782 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,000 makeshift headquarters on Weno. 783 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,000 I'm anxious to learn if Killer found the Downed Avenger 784 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,000 reported by a local eyewitness, 785 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,000 or anything else for that matter. 786 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,000 Hey, guys. Hey, Mark. Hey, Josh. 787 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,000 Hey, how's it going? It was good. We collected a lot of data. 788 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:02,000 That's the big question. You got data? 789 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,000 Yeah, yeah, good data. It looks really clean. 790 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:05,000 Let's figure it out. 791 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,000 So this footprint here is what we scanned today, 792 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,000 just about a square mile, with inch to two inch resolution. 793 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,000 So cool. So how do we unpack this huge amount of data? 794 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,000 Traditionally, we would go through it line by line, 795 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,000 just like the AUV ran the mission today. 796 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:21,000 And then we see about 250 feet on each side of where the AUV is. 797 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,000 The scanning may be autonomous, thanks again, Killer, 798 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:27,000 but historically, the analysis has been very manual. 799 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:31,000 With researchers needing to stare at every inch of the ocean floor 800 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,000 as it scrolls by. 801 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,000 Long night. Get my jammies on? 802 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:36,000 Well, maybe not. 803 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:38,000 I mean, Layla brings a new tool to the table, 804 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:40,000 and we're trying to try that out. 805 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,000 While the rest of the world is using artificial intelligence 806 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:46,000 to cheat on their homework and make trippy art projects, 807 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:50,000 Layla has found a purpose for AI that's incredibly useful. 808 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,000 So I'm putting together a machine learning model, 809 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,000 which is a type of artificial intelligence 810 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,000 that's going to automatically tell us where planes and debris are 811 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:01,000 in the sonar in two to three minutes. 812 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,000 That sounds like witchcraft. How is that possible? 813 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:07,000 Over several months, I've fed the model previous data from past missions, 814 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:11,000 and it's learned what planes look like and what debris looks like. 815 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:15,000 So it's able to discriminate between what's a rock or a piece of coral 816 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:17,000 and what could be wreckage. 817 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,000 Exactly. 818 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:19,000 And does it work? 819 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,000 Well, that's what we're here to find out. 820 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:23,000 This is our first time running it in the field. 821 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:26,000 And we legitimately have no idea what this is going to find. 822 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:27,000 No, we have no idea. 823 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:31,000 And so we decide to cross our fingers and power on SkyNet. 824 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:32,000 Boom. 825 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:34,000 Faster than you can say, 826 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,000 good Lord, we're all going to be replaced by machines. 827 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:41,000 The AI has scanned thousands of sonar images and compiled the results. 828 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:43,000 So each of these dots is a production? 829 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,000 Yeah, so each of these dots is where the model thinks 830 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:48,000 that there's something associated with an aircraft. 831 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:49,000 Wow. 832 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:51,000 Item one. 833 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,000 Something down there. 834 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,000 You can see the really rounded edges. 835 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,000 It could be a part of a plane or a ship. 836 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,000 This is an anchorage area, so there's a lot of debris there. 837 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,000 Because it has this kind of elongated shape, 838 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:04,000 it thinks maybe that's a plane, but you think it's not? 839 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:05,000 No, no way. 840 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:09,000 OK, well, all right, next up. 841 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:10,000 Yeah, this is interesting. 842 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,000 It could be something two to 300 feet, 843 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:14,000 so I definitely don't think it's aircraft. 844 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,000 So not necessarily a plane, but could be man-made? 845 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:18,000 Could be man-made. 846 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,000 The search continues. 847 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:26,000 One by one, we dismiss each hit as coral, debris, or junk. 848 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:30,000 And then we see something incredible. 849 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,000 Ooh, that is a plane. 850 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:33,000 That's a plane. 851 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:34,000 That has to be a plane, right? 852 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,000 Wait, can you go closer to that? 853 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:37,000 Yeah. 854 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:38,000 Shut up, dad. 855 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:39,000 That's a plane. 856 00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:40,000 It's not like a plane. 857 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,000 That's a plane, for sure, right? 858 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:44,000 See the wings here? 859 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:45,000 That's the tail section. 860 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:46,000 I mean, that's a plane. 861 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:47,000 That's a plane. 862 00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:48,000 That's a plane. 863 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,000 And I can tell you, it looks like a World War II plane. 864 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,000 Could this be the plane that we're looking for here? 865 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:53,000 It's in the right area. 866 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:55,000 We are in the right spot, and there is a plane there. 867 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:58,000 Yeah, I still can't believe that it's an actual plane staring us in the face. 868 00:46:58,000 --> 00:46:59,000 We can dive that. 869 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:01,000 We can dive that tomorrow. 870 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:05,000 And based on the location, too, it's never been seen before. 871 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,000 Right. 872 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:09,000 So whatever that is, nobody's been down there to look at it. 873 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,000 Not in 80 years. 874 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:12,000 Wow. 875 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:13,000 That's awesome. 876 00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:23,000 Next time on Expedition Unknown. 877 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:27,000 The search for missing World War II heroes continues. 878 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:33,000 On a group of remote Pacific islands, an eyewitness reveals buried secrets. 879 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:37,000 After they tied them, he heard the explosion. 880 00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,000 The man were dead. 881 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,000 Our team explores land. 882 00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:44,000 Josh, there's a maze of these tunnels all throughout the mountains. 883 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:45,000 This is crazy. 884 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:50,000 And see to find those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 885 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:52,000 Honestly, I'm speechless. 886 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,000 No question we've got an American plane here. 887 00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:58,000 This is the first American plane found in Truffle Go.