[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               TRIBUTE TO 2D LT. WAYLAND E. BENNETT, USMC

                                 ______


                           HON. STEVE LARGENT

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 23, 1995
  Mr. LARGENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 2d Lt. 
Wayland E. Bennett, a Marine Corps pilot who perished on a training 
mission during World War II, but was only recently brought back to this 
country for burial. The story of his return is a remarkable tale of 
friendship and dedication and deserving of special recognition.
  Mr. Bennett was a young man of 18 when he left home to join the war 
effort in the South Pacific. In 1943 he was commissioned a second 
lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was sent to a small island 1,200 
miles northeast of Australia to complete his training and join the 
elite Black Sheep Squadron of fighter pilots. On October 22, 1943 his 
Corsair crashed into a jungle area of the island too dense and too 
dangerous to risk a patrol. The wreckage and Mr. Bennett's remains were 
considered by the military to be unrecoverable.
  But the story doesn't end there, thanks in large measure to the 
devotion of Mr. Robert Bowden of Texarkana, TX. He refused to let his 
memories of his childhood friend end with a plane crash in the jungle. 
In 1988, he began a friendship with Dr. Dan Bookout, and together the 
two men decided to search for the wreckage. Enlisting family, friends, 
and strangers alike, Mr. Bowden and Dr. Bookout began to raise money 
and to organize an expedition to the South Pacific to scour the jungle 
for the plane.
  Dr. Bookout led his teams of volunteer searchers on four trips to 
Vanuatu, the first in 1988. He made friends with and enlisted natives 
to aid in the searches. The team endured many hardships and dangers in 
the jungles, each trip bringing them nearer to their objective as they 
eliminated improbable sites. Then in March and April of 1994, local 
villagers assisting in excavating a crash site told the CILHI team that 
they knew of another crash site and led the CILHI team to this site. 
From April 2 to 5, 1994, the CILHI team conducted an excavation of this 
newly revealed crash site and recovered the remains tentatively 
identified as being those of 2d Lt. Wayland E. Bennett. The board 
appointed to review the matter after all tests were completed acted 
with characteristic military thoroughness and on August 23, 1994, 
confirmed positive identification of the remains as being those of 2d 
Lt. Wayland E. Bennett, USMC. Lt. Bennett's nearest survivors were so 
informed, and on September 16, 1994, 2d Lt. Wayland E. Bennett's 
remains were interred in the family plot in Texarkana, TX. Dr. Bookout 
continued to act as the Bennett family representative until the 
interment.
  I know I speak for all Members of Congress when I say the 
selflessness and dedication of Mr. Bowden and Dr. Bookout deserves 
recognition. I hope you will join me in extending best wishes to them, 
as well as to the families of Lieutenant Bennett. I am proud that their 
efforts led to his return.


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