Americans on an Australian War Memorial
Henry MouldsOn the 28th of March 1942 four United States Army Air Force pilots from Canberra, Lieutenants Arthur Fielder, Chester Namola, Neal Takala and Second Lieutenant John Musial, were on a training flight from Canberra over the Far South Coast of NSW. The pilots encountered heavy weather conditions, including dense fog, and became lost over the coast near Eden.
Lieutenant Fielder was able to land his aircraft safely on Aslings Beach on Twofold Bay. The aircraft was subsequently recovered. Lieutenant Namola flew inland and eventually made a forced landing on a property at Berridale, NSW.
Both Lieutenant Takala and Second Lieutenant Musial were killed when their aircraft crashed inland from Eden.
Lieutenant Fielder and Lieutenant Namola were later sent to be part of the defence of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. Fielder was killed during a training flight at Strauss airfield in the Northern Territory on the 23rd of June 1942. Namola was posted as Missing in Action when he was shot down by the Japanese over Darwin Harbour during a bombing raid on the 16th of June 1942. He was last seen spiralling towards the harbour but neither he nor the aircraft were ever found.
The men who were killed in the crashes near Eden were initially buried in Australia but after the war their remains were returned to the United States.
Sources:
Australia at War website www.ozatwar.com
Australian War Memorial website www.awm.gov.au
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 29th March 2017
Eden Killer Whale Museum
