1 00:00:03,066 --> 00:00:05,266 May 30th, 1945, 2 00:00:05,266 --> 00:00:07,667 just weeks after Germany's surrender. 3 00:00:07,667 --> 00:00:10,367 In the Pacific, World War II rages on 4 00:00:10,367 --> 00:00:12,700 and Allied forces are on the move. 5 00:00:12,700 --> 00:00:16,967 Here, at the US Army Air Base in the city of Accra in West Africa, 6 00:00:16,967 --> 00:00:19,900 Americans are being transported to new assignments in Europe. 7 00:00:22,166 --> 00:00:25,000 But these are not your average soldiers. 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,767 They're members of the Women's Army Corps, or WAC for short. 9 00:00:28,767 --> 00:00:31,667 And the WACs aren't just breaking glass ceilings, 10 00:00:31,667 --> 00:00:32,867 they're shattering them 11 00:00:32,867 --> 00:00:36,500 as trailblazers serving alongside their male counterparts 12 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:39,433 to stop Hitler and defeat the Axis powers. 13 00:00:40,767 --> 00:00:44,567 These WACs are specialists working for Air Transport Command. 14 00:00:44,567 --> 00:00:46,500 They manage air traffic control, 15 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:50,100 weather forecasting and other vital logistics. 16 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:52,900 By all accounts, this should be a routine flight. 17 00:00:52,900 --> 00:00:56,066 After all, the Douglas C-47 Skytrain here 18 00:00:56,066 --> 00:00:58,700 is a dependable workhorse for the Allies. 19 00:00:58,700 --> 00:01:02,200 The weather is clear and the route ahead is well traveled. 20 00:01:03,367 --> 00:01:06,467 But this particular flight will be anything but ordinary. 21 00:01:06,467 --> 00:01:10,700 That's because nobody aboard will make it to their intended destination. 22 00:01:13,567 --> 00:01:15,400 Shortly after takeoff... 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,767 ...something goes terribly wrong. 24 00:01:19,767 --> 00:01:23,433 Without warning, the plane careens at a sharp angle... 25 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:27,500 ...and pitches toward the ocean below. 26 00:01:33,166 --> 00:01:35,567 And then, silence. 27 00:01:35,567 --> 00:01:38,467 Locals on a remote peninsula on the Ivory Coast 28 00:01:38,467 --> 00:01:41,200 claimed to see the plane crashing into the ocean. 29 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,667 US forces will conduct a thorough search, 30 00:01:43,667 --> 00:01:45,667 but no wreckage will be found. 31 00:01:45,667 --> 00:01:47,266 No bodies recovered. 32 00:01:47,266 --> 00:01:49,867 Even the story is destined to disappear, 33 00:01:49,867 --> 00:01:53,000 fading from headline news to be all but forgotten. 34 00:01:54,900 --> 00:01:57,166 The WACs and their three-man crew 35 00:01:57,166 --> 00:01:59,000 will be listed as Missing In Action. 36 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:04,567 In fact, of the 27 American World War II servicewomen who are MIA, 37 00:02:04,567 --> 00:02:07,800 18 of them are from this single crash. 38 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,467 The cause of this terrible crash and the fate of those aboard 39 00:02:11,467 --> 00:02:15,567 is a mystery that demands to be remembered and investigated. 40 00:02:15,567 --> 00:02:20,567 Can dedicated researchers uncover the true location of the accident? 41 00:02:20,567 --> 00:02:24,367 Could technology image the remains of the sunken wreck? 42 00:02:24,367 --> 00:02:25,867 And most importantly, 43 00:02:25,867 --> 00:02:30,567 can these missing American heroes be found and brought home? 44 00:02:30,567 --> 00:02:32,700 Only time will tell. 45 00:02:36,767 --> 00:02:39,266 The past is all around us. 46 00:02:39,266 --> 00:02:41,133 Oh, this is crazy. 47 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:43,300 A world of mystery. 48 00:02:43,300 --> 00:02:45,467 -This is a plane. -Yeah. [laughs] 49 00:02:45,467 --> 00:02:46,867 [Josh Gates] Danger. 50 00:02:46,867 --> 00:02:48,567 We are about to be underwater. 51 00:02:48,567 --> 00:02:50,233 Whoa! 52 00:02:50,867 --> 00:02:52,233 And adventure. 53 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,000 It's just straight down! 54 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,133 [vocalizes] 55 00:03:00,567 --> 00:03:02,800 I travel to the far corners of the earth 56 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,300 to uncover where legends end... 57 00:03:05,300 --> 00:03:06,800 Yeah! [laughs] 58 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,400 ...and history begins. 59 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,266 Okay, let's punch it. 60 00:03:10,266 --> 00:03:15,300 I'm Josh Gates, and this is Expedition Unknown. 61 00:03:20,700 --> 00:03:24,000 My mission begins at the US Army's Fort Gregg-Adams 62 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,800 a few hours south of DC. 63 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,800 Once on base, I make my way over to a one-of-a-kind museum, 64 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:32,567 which chronicle the long history 65 00:03:32,567 --> 00:03:34,700 of women's service in our military. 66 00:03:37,100 --> 00:03:38,200 Tracy. 67 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,600 -Hi, Josh. Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you, too. 68 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,700 Welcome to the United States Army Women's Museum. 69 00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:46,100 I am thrilled to be here, uh, because I have a lot to learn. 70 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:51,100 And I think a lot of people don't know enough about the Women's Army Corps. 71 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:53,467 So tell me, who were the WACs? 72 00:03:53,467 --> 00:03:55,266 So the WACs were the first women 73 00:03:55,266 --> 00:03:57,867 to serve in the Army with full military status. 74 00:03:57,867 --> 00:03:59,900 -Okay. -[Tracy Bradford] It's an amazing story. 75 00:03:59,900 --> 00:04:01,700 But I think, to understand the WACs, 76 00:04:01,700 --> 00:04:04,567 we need to go back to the beginning, to the American Revolution. 77 00:04:04,567 --> 00:04:06,166 So let's head this way. 78 00:04:06,166 --> 00:04:07,800 Let's go all the way back. Come on. 79 00:04:09,467 --> 00:04:12,500 [Tracy] Really, since the birth of the Army in 1775, 80 00:04:12,500 --> 00:04:14,767 women have been finding ways to serve. 81 00:04:14,767 --> 00:04:17,367 And so in those early days, how are they serving? 82 00:04:17,367 --> 00:04:19,467 They're serving in very logistical roles, 83 00:04:19,467 --> 00:04:21,100 important work for the Army. 84 00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:22,266 They're serving as laundresses. 85 00:04:22,266 --> 00:04:25,767 They're serving as cooks. As nurses. They're foraging. 86 00:04:25,767 --> 00:04:28,867 -Then we see a big change around World War I. -Okay. 87 00:04:28,867 --> 00:04:30,700 A great example is the "Hello Girls." 88 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,200 [Josh] The "Hello Girls" were French-speaking American women 89 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,000 brought overseas to help with communications during World War I. 90 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,600 It was the first time women had been used in forward service. 91 00:04:43,767 --> 00:04:45,867 That's really gonna lay the groundwork 92 00:04:45,867 --> 00:04:49,233 for what's gonna happen in World War II with our Women's Army Corps. 93 00:04:49,867 --> 00:04:51,367 [reporter] American woman power 94 00:04:51,367 --> 00:04:54,100 is a reserve that can win this war. 95 00:04:54,100 --> 00:04:59,667 [Josh] The Women's Army Corps was founded in 1942 five months after Pearl Harbor 96 00:04:59,667 --> 00:05:03,567 to bolster the war effort by enlisting women to work as cooks, 97 00:05:03,567 --> 00:05:07,900 drivers, and offer communications and medical support. 98 00:05:07,900 --> 00:05:11,000 The original call goes out for 1,000 WACs, 99 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,100 and over 30,000 women apply. 100 00:05:13,100 --> 00:05:16,300 -So right out of the gate, 30,000 women apply to this. -[Tracy] Yes. 101 00:05:16,300 --> 00:05:19,300 And the numbers are gonna grow exponentially throughout the war. 102 00:05:19,300 --> 00:05:21,400 [Josh] Seeing these women in these uniforms 103 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,400 strikes kind of an emotional note for me. 104 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,200 My grandmother, who was British, 105 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,767 served in the UK equivalent of this, the Women's Royal Army Corps. 106 00:05:29,767 --> 00:05:32,166 And we have this photo of her in uniform, 107 00:05:32,166 --> 00:05:35,800 and during the 40s in the UK she was doing transfusions for soldiers 108 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:37,400 and supporting the war effort. 109 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,567 And the British women were actually an inspiration 110 00:05:39,567 --> 00:05:41,166 for what was gonna happen in America. 111 00:05:41,166 --> 00:05:43,467 Much of the Women's Army Corps was replicated 112 00:05:43,467 --> 00:05:45,867 on the service of women like your grandmother. 113 00:05:45,867 --> 00:05:47,967 There we go. Nice work, Grammy. 114 00:05:47,967 --> 00:05:50,266 -Appreciate it. Grammy. Yeah. -Grammy. Yeah. 115 00:05:50,266 --> 00:05:52,567 Good job, Grammy. All right. That's amazing. 116 00:05:52,567 --> 00:05:54,066 That is incredible to hear. 117 00:05:54,066 --> 00:05:55,467 Over the course of the war, 118 00:05:55,467 --> 00:05:59,700 150,000 WACS were stationed all over the world, 119 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:03,300 from Europe to Africa to the Manhattan Project. 120 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:06,500 It was at the Accra Air Base in what is now Ghana, 121 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:08,166 that the 18 WACs were stationed 122 00:06:08,166 --> 00:06:10,433 before their doomed flight to London. 123 00:06:12,867 --> 00:06:14,700 So, Josh, welcome to the archives. 124 00:06:14,700 --> 00:06:18,567 [Josh] Wow, look at all of this material. This is incredible. 125 00:06:18,567 --> 00:06:21,600 This is the official WAC archive of the crash 126 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,233 and the women who tragically perished in it. 127 00:06:24,767 --> 00:06:26,166 -May I? -Yes, please. 128 00:06:26,166 --> 00:06:28,867 So, we've got literal headline news here. 129 00:06:28,867 --> 00:06:31,867 Army Plane, 18 WACS Lost. 130 00:06:31,867 --> 00:06:35,166 18 WACs Missing on Plane Trip in Africa. 131 00:06:35,166 --> 00:06:38,000 Air and surface craft are searching for a missing plane 132 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,900 carrying 18 WACs and a crew of three. 133 00:06:39,900 --> 00:06:42,767 The WACs are the first ever reported lost overseas. 134 00:06:42,767 --> 00:06:46,000 This must have been a seismic event for the Women's Army Corps. 135 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,567 It really was. It was the largest loss of life 136 00:06:48,567 --> 00:06:50,867 for the Women's Army Corps, all in one event. 137 00:06:50,867 --> 00:06:52,033 This was national news, 138 00:06:52,033 --> 00:06:55,100 as well as news in all of the hometowns of these women. 139 00:06:55,100 --> 00:06:57,567 And yet so few people know this story today. 140 00:06:57,567 --> 00:06:58,767 Right, I agree. 141 00:06:58,767 --> 00:07:01,567 But we have to remember that there was a lot going on still 142 00:07:01,567 --> 00:07:02,800 at this time in the war. 143 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:04,000 So Germany had just surrendered, 144 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,467 but we had a big fight left in the Pacific. 145 00:07:07,467 --> 00:07:08,700 [Josh] With Germany's surrender, 146 00:07:08,700 --> 00:07:11,266 the WACs had the opportunity to go home, 147 00:07:11,266 --> 00:07:15,066 but many chose to stay on to support a devastated Europe, 148 00:07:15,066 --> 00:07:19,100 or be redeployed to assignments in the Pacific. 149 00:07:19,100 --> 00:07:23,166 The fateful flight in question was scheduled to travel from Accra Base, 150 00:07:23,166 --> 00:07:26,767 with refueling and personnel stops in Liberia, Senegal, 151 00:07:26,767 --> 00:07:30,166 Morocco and France before heading to the UK. 152 00:07:30,166 --> 00:07:33,567 There were four C-47 aircraft leaving the base, 153 00:07:33,567 --> 00:07:35,300 but only three of them made it. 154 00:07:36,066 --> 00:07:38,500 Are these photos of the women from the crash? 155 00:07:38,500 --> 00:07:42,500 Yes. In fact, here we have, um, the majority of Squadron D 156 00:07:42,500 --> 00:07:44,500 -stationed in Accra. -[Josh] Wow. 157 00:07:44,500 --> 00:07:46,667 So these are all the women that are stationed over there. 158 00:07:46,667 --> 00:07:50,800 So presumably, the 18 WACs who died in this one crash are in this photo. 159 00:07:51,266 --> 00:07:53,000 -[Tracy] Yes. -[Josh] Wow. 160 00:07:54,300 --> 00:07:58,200 So we have here Corporal Velma H. Holden, 161 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,467 and her colleagues Private Flossie Flannery. 162 00:08:01,467 --> 00:08:03,867 -That is the greatest name ever. I love that. -[Tracy chuckles] 163 00:08:03,867 --> 00:08:07,600 Doris Cooper, and Frieda Friend was on the plane. 164 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,066 Right, so PFC Frieda Friend and her husband got married in the States. 165 00:08:11,066 --> 00:08:13,166 He ends up being stationed in Accra. 166 00:08:13,166 --> 00:08:16,100 And then later, she's sent to Accra, so they were there together. 167 00:08:16,100 --> 00:08:19,567 And then she was on this plane that ended up crashing on the way to London, 168 00:08:19,567 --> 00:08:21,266 And he found out about it back on the base. 169 00:08:21,266 --> 00:08:23,100 -Yes, he did. -Wow, that's just terrible. 170 00:08:23,100 --> 00:08:26,667 And her colleague is Helen F. Rozzelle, 171 00:08:26,667 --> 00:08:28,667 who joined the WAC to take the place of a brother, 172 00:08:28,667 --> 00:08:30,567 Lieutenant Richard Rozzelle, 173 00:08:30,567 --> 00:08:34,200 a pilot whose plane was shot down off of Italy in '43. 174 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,800 So she's serving because she has a brother who's already been lost. 175 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:38,867 [Tracy] Exactly. So she actually does enlist 176 00:08:38,867 --> 00:08:41,266 after her brother is Missing In Action. 177 00:08:41,266 --> 00:08:46,300 -So currently, they are both on the MIA register. -[Josh] Wow. 178 00:08:46,667 --> 00:08:48,166 And who's this? 179 00:08:48,166 --> 00:08:52,667 [Tracy] So this is actually Helen Rozzelle here And Odessa Hollingsworth, 180 00:08:52,667 --> 00:08:55,767 two of the women who were killed in the plane crash. 181 00:08:55,767 --> 00:08:59,800 Look at these two women just hanging out on the beach in West Africa. 182 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:03,467 What a cool photo this is. 183 00:09:03,467 --> 00:09:05,000 [Tracy] So there are trailblazers 184 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,967 -and that there are women in the Army. -[Josh] Yeah. 185 00:09:06,967 --> 00:09:10,000 They're serving their nation and they're also on a great adventure. 186 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:11,367 [Josh] That's right. 187 00:09:11,367 --> 00:09:14,266 And as to this plane, it really just seems like 188 00:09:14,266 --> 00:09:16,667 it vanishes off the face of the earth. 189 00:09:16,667 --> 00:09:19,600 You look at the news report, and it says the plane was last reported 190 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,166 over British West Africa, about 150 miles west of Accra, 191 00:09:23,166 --> 00:09:25,166 and then nothing. 192 00:09:25,166 --> 00:09:26,767 So they had a normal takeoff. 193 00:09:26,767 --> 00:09:29,100 They... they did their first check in 194 00:09:29,100 --> 00:09:30,700 and then there was a frantic mayday call. 195 00:09:30,700 --> 00:09:33,300 But in the mayday, the pilot doesn't say what's happening. 196 00:09:33,300 --> 00:09:35,266 Does not identify the problem. 197 00:09:35,266 --> 00:09:38,767 So then a major search-and-rescue operation is launched, 198 00:09:38,767 --> 00:09:40,166 and it goes on for over a week. 199 00:09:40,166 --> 00:09:42,467 They send out planes. They send out ships. 200 00:09:42,467 --> 00:09:45,567 They found absolutely nothing. No human remains. No debris. 201 00:09:45,567 --> 00:09:47,667 So it is a true mystery. 202 00:09:47,667 --> 00:09:50,100 And a mystery I hope that can be solved. 203 00:09:50,100 --> 00:09:52,367 And we hope so, too. This is an important story. 204 00:09:52,367 --> 00:09:56,667 And we would be very happy to bring resolution and recognition 205 00:09:56,667 --> 00:09:58,700 to the service of these women. 206 00:10:01,266 --> 00:10:03,400 [Josh] To assist in that effort, I travel west. 207 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,000 I need to understand what I'm hunting for... 208 00:10:08,166 --> 00:10:10,467 ...by getting my eyes on a C-47, 209 00:10:10,467 --> 00:10:13,400 or better yet, flying in one. 210 00:10:18,900 --> 00:10:21,166 That's veteran pilot Mike Nightengale. 211 00:10:21,166 --> 00:10:23,867 In the co-pilot seat is Steve Rose. 212 00:10:23,867 --> 00:10:25,767 You can't make these names up. 213 00:10:25,767 --> 00:10:28,266 In the navigator seat behind them is me. 214 00:10:28,266 --> 00:10:32,834 And we're aboard one of the most famous aircraft models in history, the C-47. 215 00:10:33,367 --> 00:10:35,066 Nicknamed "The Gooney Bird," 216 00:10:35,066 --> 00:10:38,567 almost 10,000 of these were built during World War II. 217 00:10:38,567 --> 00:10:42,400 This one rolled off the production line in March of 1945, 218 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,700 just two months before the crash I'm investigating. 219 00:10:49,367 --> 00:10:52,767 We're in the desert outside of Palm Springs, California, 220 00:10:52,767 --> 00:10:55,667 and in a moment, this £25,000 antique 221 00:10:55,667 --> 00:10:57,900 is hopefully gonna get airborne. 222 00:10:58,367 --> 00:10:59,600 Buckle up. 223 00:11:35,266 --> 00:11:36,734 [Mike Nightengale speaking] 224 00:11:42,667 --> 00:11:43,800 My iPhone. 225 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:45,734 [laughs] 226 00:11:53,467 --> 00:11:56,967 Powered by two massive Pratt and Whitney air-cooled engines, 227 00:11:56,967 --> 00:11:59,100 providing 2,400 horsepower, 228 00:11:59,100 --> 00:12:01,867 the C-47 is no puddle jumper. 229 00:12:01,867 --> 00:12:04,300 With a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, 230 00:12:04,300 --> 00:12:07,266 she could carry 28 fully-equipped paratroopers 231 00:12:07,266 --> 00:12:09,800 or up to £10,000 of cargo. 232 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,767 The C-47 served all over the globe during the war, 233 00:12:13,767 --> 00:12:15,767 including at Normandy on D-Day. 234 00:12:15,767 --> 00:12:20,934 General Eisenhower himself singled it out as one of our most valuable assets. 235 00:13:03,567 --> 00:13:05,900 [Josh] I'm flying in a vintage C-47 236 00:13:05,900 --> 00:13:08,400 over the deserts of Palm Springs, California. 237 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,166 A plane nearly identical to this one 238 00:13:11,166 --> 00:13:15,300 crashed into the ocean off West Africa in 1945, 239 00:13:15,300 --> 00:13:18,600 carrying 18 members of the Women's Army Corps. 240 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,300 Now, pilots Mike Nightengale and Steve Rose 241 00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:25,433 walk me through what they think could have caused the crash. 242 00:13:40,767 --> 00:13:43,100 [Josh] Feathering the propeller of a dead engine 243 00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:45,467 turns the blades parallel to the airflow 244 00:13:45,467 --> 00:13:48,867 to reduce drag and help the plane stay in the air. 245 00:13:48,867 --> 00:13:52,800 But the feathering control on the C-47 is a bit fickle, 246 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,600 and it might have become stuck in its normal position. 247 00:14:02,100 --> 00:14:04,000 [Josh speaking] 248 00:14:05,266 --> 00:14:07,166 [Steve speaking] 249 00:14:07,166 --> 00:14:09,900 [Josh] But the engines are just one potential culprit. 250 00:14:10,767 --> 00:14:12,900 A little noticed line in a maintenance report 251 00:14:12,900 --> 00:14:14,867 from the day of the doomed flight 252 00:14:14,867 --> 00:14:16,800 makes Steve think the landing gear 253 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:18,800 could have played a role in the crash. 254 00:14:34,967 --> 00:14:37,266 The landing gear stuck in the down position 255 00:14:37,266 --> 00:14:39,967 would have caused considerable drag on the plane, 256 00:14:39,967 --> 00:14:42,467 making it much more difficult to fly. 257 00:14:42,467 --> 00:14:46,567 Also, the reality of war meant that pilots were often flying 258 00:14:46,567 --> 00:14:51,000 without extensive experience in complex emergency procedures. 259 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,200 The fateful flight of the WACs was manned by a good pilot, 260 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,333 but one with less than 50 hours behind the stick. 261 00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:19,000 Now that I know my target, 262 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,467 it's time to join the team hunting for the long-lost plane of the WACs. 263 00:15:23,467 --> 00:15:26,800 And to do that, the search moves halfway around the planet 264 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,867 to the place where their plane disappeared. 265 00:15:29,867 --> 00:15:33,100 I leave Palm Springs and embark on a 19-hour flight 266 00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:37,433 from the west coast of the US to the west coast of Africa. 267 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,467 Welcome to the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, 268 00:15:48,467 --> 00:15:50,867 which translates to Ivory Coast. 269 00:15:50,867 --> 00:15:54,166 a moniker that dates back to French and Portuguese traders 270 00:15:54,166 --> 00:15:58,800 who once shipped untold tons of ivory from Africa's western shores. 271 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,100 Five hundred years later, the exports have thankfully changed, 272 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,400 but business is still booming here in the city of Abidjan. 273 00:16:07,166 --> 00:16:10,500 One business in particular dominates the modern economy, 274 00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:12,133 and it's pretty sweet. 275 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,667 This is the world's largest exporter of cacao, 276 00:16:16,667 --> 00:16:18,867 which means if you have ever had a piece of chocolate, 277 00:16:18,867 --> 00:16:21,166 odds are it originated from here. 278 00:16:21,166 --> 00:16:24,333 It also means that my diet is about to go way off the rails. 279 00:16:25,367 --> 00:16:26,567 The local Bushman's Cafe 280 00:16:26,567 --> 00:16:29,900 has some of the finest examples of the national product 281 00:16:29,900 --> 00:16:31,200 for me to sample. 282 00:16:32,066 --> 00:16:33,900 That's the best thing I've ever eaten. 283 00:16:36,867 --> 00:16:38,233 I'm never leaving here. 284 00:16:39,166 --> 00:16:41,467 What else do you have? Just keep bringing it. 285 00:16:41,467 --> 00:16:42,800 Just bring everything over. 286 00:16:44,367 --> 00:16:45,900 Yep. Thank you very much. 287 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,500 I'll just be right here if you need me. 288 00:16:49,500 --> 00:16:52,667 The chocolate made in Cote d'Ivoire is enjoyed around the world, 289 00:16:52,667 --> 00:16:55,867 but if you're looking for some joy that's slightly less caloric... 290 00:16:55,867 --> 00:16:57,500 -Bonjour. -Bonjour. 291 00:16:57,500 --> 00:16:59,867 ...just head to the Marche de Treichville, 292 00:16:59,867 --> 00:17:02,066 Abidjan's busy street market. 293 00:17:02,066 --> 00:17:06,500 [singing in native language] 294 00:17:08,300 --> 00:17:09,834 What's up? What's up? 295 00:17:15,667 --> 00:17:16,867 Party right now. 296 00:17:16,867 --> 00:17:19,233 [all cheering] 297 00:17:21,967 --> 00:17:25,567 [Josh] As much as I'd love to stay with the flash mob here in the capital, 298 00:17:25,567 --> 00:17:29,367 my final destination is quite a ways out of town. 299 00:17:29,367 --> 00:17:32,667 So I strap in for a six-hour drive up the coast 300 00:17:32,667 --> 00:17:36,800 to meet a group dedicated to finding the lost C-47. 301 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,567 All right. Well, the team preparing to mount a search 302 00:17:39,567 --> 00:17:42,000 for the missing plane are old friends. 303 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,233 And they're staging their operation 304 00:17:43,233 --> 00:17:47,467 near the suspected crash site about 200 miles west of here. 305 00:17:47,467 --> 00:17:48,700 Let's rock and roll. 306 00:17:48,700 --> 00:17:50,600 ♪♪ Let's get The motor running ♪ 307 00:17:51,266 --> 00:17:53,000 ♪♪ I got places to go ♪ 308 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:57,300 [Josh] Outside of Abidjan, the modern cityscape 309 00:17:57,300 --> 00:18:00,467 is quickly replaced by a blur of roadside villages, 310 00:18:00,467 --> 00:18:03,367 and eventually by nothing but humid jungle. 311 00:18:03,367 --> 00:18:06,367 ♪♪ No matter what it takes I'll get to you ♪ 312 00:18:06,367 --> 00:18:10,600 ♪♪ No ocean too wide No mountain too far ♪ 313 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,033 ♪♪ I'll run all night ♪ 314 00:18:12,767 --> 00:18:14,333 ♪♪ To get to you ♪ 315 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,100 Well, welcome to the city of San Pedro. 316 00:18:26,100 --> 00:18:28,000 You know, last night I dreamt of San Pedro. 317 00:18:30,867 --> 00:18:32,800 Sorry, that's a Madonna song. 318 00:18:33,767 --> 00:18:36,467 The sun rings through my ears, whatever that means, 319 00:18:36,467 --> 00:18:38,600 as I find the city's commercial port, 320 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,300 where I have a reunion planned with the members of Project Recover. 321 00:18:42,567 --> 00:18:44,400 Hey. 322 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,166 -Mark, good to see you again. Yeah, pleasure. -Good to see you again, too. 323 00:18:47,166 --> 00:18:50,200 [Josh] Meet Project Recover co-founder, Mark Moline. 324 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,767 Historian, Colin Colburn. 325 00:18:52,767 --> 00:18:55,700 And underwater archaeologist, Drew Pietruszka. 326 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,266 Project Recover is a nonprofit group 327 00:18:58,266 --> 00:19:02,567 dedicated to searching for Missing In Action Americans from World War II. 328 00:19:02,567 --> 00:19:05,767 I recently worked with them in Micronesia, 329 00:19:05,767 --> 00:19:08,867 where in 1944, 42 American planes 330 00:19:08,867 --> 00:19:12,867 and over 200 pilots went Missing In Action. 331 00:19:12,867 --> 00:19:17,500 We located a previously lost Japanese Zero aircraft... 332 00:19:17,500 --> 00:19:19,900 -Nobody has seen that. -Yeah, until us. 333 00:19:19,900 --> 00:19:22,266 ...and an American SBD Dauntless 334 00:19:22,266 --> 00:19:25,200 that hadn't been seen in nearly 80 years. 335 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,500 The first American aircraft ever located in Truk Lagoon. We can check it off the list. 336 00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:34,166 [Josh] It was a huge honor to take part in such a historic expedition, 337 00:19:34,166 --> 00:19:37,500 which is why I'm back for an equally important mission. 338 00:19:38,266 --> 00:19:40,200 Why do we only meet on remote docks? 339 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,700 -I don't know. [chuckles] -We're just adding continents as we go. 340 00:19:42,700 --> 00:19:45,000 Yeah, I know. So we got another one here. Welcome to Africa, right? 341 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,266 Tell me at least this is gonna be an easy mission. 342 00:19:47,266 --> 00:19:49,266 I don't think so. This is not gonna be an easy one. 343 00:19:49,266 --> 00:19:50,867 This is really uncharted waters here. 344 00:19:50,867 --> 00:19:52,066 [Josh] So let's talk about this. 345 00:19:52,066 --> 00:19:55,066 In terms of where to look for this plane and these women, 346 00:19:55,066 --> 00:19:56,600 what do we know? 347 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,166 I was able to get the, uh, accident report from the, uh, Air Force archives. 348 00:20:00,166 --> 00:20:03,066 -[Josh] Okay. -And that provided us a lot more information. 349 00:20:03,066 --> 00:20:05,467 -You have it. -Down to an X on the map. 350 00:20:05,467 --> 00:20:07,400 -A literal X on the map. -A literal X on the map. 351 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:09,000 Wow, look at this. 352 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,266 So this is a copy of the original accident report. 353 00:20:12,266 --> 00:20:14,166 It says the plane takes off normally. 354 00:20:14,166 --> 00:20:16,700 And then it says no messages were received until 09:20 355 00:20:16,700 --> 00:20:19,567 when Roberts Field heard a series of mayday report 356 00:20:19,567 --> 00:20:20,867 from the aircraft. 357 00:20:20,867 --> 00:20:24,567 Roberts Field in Liberia was the plane's first scheduled stop 358 00:20:24,567 --> 00:20:26,100 on its way to the UK. 359 00:20:26,100 --> 00:20:27,567 And it was the tower at Roberts 360 00:20:27,567 --> 00:20:29,767 that received their mayday signal. 361 00:20:29,767 --> 00:20:34,266 And a series of maydays were repeated for a period of five minutes on voice 362 00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:37,567 with no pause at any time in order to receive an answer. 363 00:20:37,567 --> 00:20:40,467 So what? Just for 5 minutes they were calling mayday? 364 00:20:40,467 --> 00:20:42,000 A key in the radio. 365 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,266 We don't really know what happened, 366 00:20:43,266 --> 00:20:47,200 -but five minutes in an aircraft emergency is forever. -Right. 367 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,367 It's a long time for them to have been in trouble. 368 00:20:50,367 --> 00:20:53,667 [Josh] The mayday signal is received by the team in the radio tower 369 00:20:53,667 --> 00:20:55,667 who uses a signal-direction finder 370 00:20:55,667 --> 00:20:59,300 to determine the plane's bearing, 109 degrees. 371 00:21:01,266 --> 00:21:02,567 We have a bearing. 372 00:21:02,567 --> 00:21:03,800 Not only do we have the bearing, 373 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:07,700 we also have a map with an eyewitness sighting of the loss. 374 00:21:07,700 --> 00:21:09,000 We have eyewitness sightings. 375 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,467 -[Colin Colbourn] Yes. -Okay. 376 00:21:10,467 --> 00:21:11,800 Josh, look here. 377 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,200 A literal X on the map, 378 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,800 -and it's marked where natives saw a crash. -[Mark Moline] Right. 379 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,000 [Josh] The accident report describes an account 380 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,767 from the indigenous people in a coastal village 381 00:21:22,767 --> 00:21:25,000 who claimed to witness a plane crashing 382 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,867 not far from the bearing line of the C-47. 383 00:21:27,867 --> 00:21:31,200 Investigators brought one witness by boat to the site, 384 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,867 about a half mile from a place called Drewin Point, 385 00:21:33,867 --> 00:21:38,000 where they discovered a mysterious oil slick on the water's surface. 386 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,867 But no survivors were found, 387 00:21:39,867 --> 00:21:41,400 no bodies recovered. 388 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,467 The search was ultimately called off, 389 00:21:43,467 --> 00:21:45,700 but the bearing and the eyewitness account 390 00:21:45,700 --> 00:21:48,300 will allow us to pick up the trail. 391 00:21:49,266 --> 00:21:51,667 So, it seems like we're headed to Drewin Point. 392 00:21:51,667 --> 00:21:53,400 -Third piece of evidence. -[both] Yeah. 393 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,000 Who else has searched here? 394 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,266 Nobody. 395 00:21:56,266 --> 00:21:58,200 -Literally nobody since '45? -Yeah. 396 00:21:58,200 --> 00:21:59,667 -Not since the war. -No. 397 00:21:59,667 --> 00:22:01,100 I've been all over the world, Josh, 398 00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:04,400 and this is one case where we're going somewhere 399 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,367 where I have no idea what to expect. 400 00:22:06,367 --> 00:22:08,667 There's no recreational divers around here. 401 00:22:08,667 --> 00:22:11,367 Nobody's been underwater, knows the conditions, nothing. 402 00:22:11,367 --> 00:22:13,767 Right, forget the wreck, we don't know what's there at all. 403 00:22:13,767 --> 00:22:16,166 -Nobody dives out here. -No, real mystery. 404 00:22:16,166 --> 00:22:19,266 [Josh] Back in 1945, there was no infrastructure 405 00:22:19,266 --> 00:22:21,100 to mount an underwater search. 406 00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:24,166 Even today, we've had to ship in our own scuba tanks 407 00:22:24,166 --> 00:22:26,266 and an air compressor to dive. 408 00:22:26,266 --> 00:22:29,100 We've also brought in underwater sonar technology 409 00:22:29,100 --> 00:22:32,200 that has never been applied here before. 410 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,066 Okay, should we get out there and try and solve the mystery? 411 00:22:35,066 --> 00:22:36,000 -Let's do it. -Let's go. 412 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,300 Let's go. Come on. 413 00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:40,000 Project Recover has a pair of research vessels 414 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,400 waiting to bring us to our search zone. 415 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,800 We speed out on to the open ocean, 416 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:46,900 the first team to look for this plane 417 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:50,700 and her vanished passengers in almost 80 years. 418 00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:01,867 So, Josh, this is Drewin Point right here. 419 00:23:01,867 --> 00:23:05,266 [Josh] On a boat off of West Africa's Ivory Coast, 420 00:23:05,266 --> 00:23:07,467 I'm with a team from Project Recover 421 00:23:07,467 --> 00:23:12,266 searching for a World War II plane that disappeared in 1945. 422 00:23:12,266 --> 00:23:16,400 It carried 18 members of the trailblazing Women's Army Corps, 423 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,000 still listed as missing in action. 424 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,667 But now, an accident report from the original investigation 425 00:23:22,667 --> 00:23:27,166 is providing new clues about where the plane may have crashed. 426 00:23:27,166 --> 00:23:29,767 Okay, so this is our big geographical marker. 427 00:23:29,767 --> 00:23:32,000 [Colin] That's right. So a half mile off of this point 428 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,867 is supposedly where our aircraft crashed. 429 00:23:33,867 --> 00:23:35,266 And we can see a fishing village in here. 430 00:23:35,266 --> 00:23:36,600 This is where eyewitnesses were? 431 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,867 [Colin] Someone from this village flagged down American searchers 432 00:23:39,867 --> 00:23:41,667 to say that they witnessed the crash. 433 00:23:41,667 --> 00:23:44,266 Boy, it's so tantalizing to think that 434 00:23:44,266 --> 00:23:47,000 somewhere around us, underneath us, 435 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,266 this wreck exists. It's just waiting. 436 00:23:49,266 --> 00:23:50,667 It's just waiting and, you know, 437 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:53,500 we're the first ones to come looking for it since 1945. 438 00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:55,767 And now we just gotta find it. 439 00:23:55,767 --> 00:23:58,266 When the WAC's plane went down in this remote area, 440 00:23:58,266 --> 00:24:02,100 the Army did their best to conduct a search and rescue operation to find it. 441 00:24:02,100 --> 00:24:05,800 They had the same bearing and the same witness statement we do. 442 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,500 But we have something that they did not, 443 00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:11,467 state of the art 21st century sonar. 444 00:24:11,467 --> 00:24:13,166 That tech is brought onboard 445 00:24:13,166 --> 00:24:16,000 by the remainder of the Project Recover team. 446 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,800 Josh, you remember Leila Character from Micronesia? 447 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,700 -Of course. Great to see you. -Yeah, you too. 448 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:22,667 I wanted to also introduce Erik White. 449 00:24:22,667 --> 00:24:24,000 He's our senior engineer. 450 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,367 Nice to meet you. I assume it's tech time here? 451 00:24:26,367 --> 00:24:27,767 -It's tech time. -It's tech time, all right. 452 00:24:27,767 --> 00:24:29,767 I've seen this very dangerous-looking box before. 453 00:24:29,767 --> 00:24:31,600 -Should we see what's inside of it? -Yes. 454 00:24:34,667 --> 00:24:37,567 [Josh] We unpack the team's precious cargo. 455 00:24:37,567 --> 00:24:39,300 Okay, here we go. 456 00:24:39,700 --> 00:24:41,734 It is something to behold. 457 00:24:43,567 --> 00:24:45,300 Okay, the beast. 458 00:24:45,300 --> 00:24:48,200 We call this an AUV. This is an autonomous underwater vehicle. 459 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,867 -We're not towing this thing. It's going off on its own. -Correct. 460 00:24:51,867 --> 00:24:54,667 And once we're in the water, Leila, what's the mission? 461 00:24:54,667 --> 00:24:58,567 Once we're in the water, we've preprogrammed it, so it knows where to go. 462 00:24:58,567 --> 00:25:01,166 It's basically going to follow a mow-the-lawn pattern, 463 00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:03,667 where it's collecting data up and down these rows. 464 00:25:03,667 --> 00:25:06,367 It sends out a beam of sound, that beam of sound hits the ground. 465 00:25:06,367 --> 00:25:09,066 If the ground is hard, the beam of sound appears bright. 466 00:25:09,066 --> 00:25:11,700 If it's soft, it appears very dark. 467 00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:14,767 So, when we look at the image, we'd be looking for something very bright 468 00:25:14,767 --> 00:25:17,200 -for an aircraft because it would be hard. -[Josh] Right. 469 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:23,266 The most identifiable features likely to survive the crash of the WAC's C-47... 470 00:25:23,266 --> 00:25:24,667 [loud crash] 471 00:25:24,667 --> 00:25:27,166 ...would have been the twin Pratt & Whitney engines. 472 00:25:27,166 --> 00:25:29,467 But parts of the hull and tail sections 473 00:25:29,467 --> 00:25:31,567 were constructed of steel as well 474 00:25:31,567 --> 00:25:33,767 and may also be preserved. 475 00:25:33,767 --> 00:25:36,667 So once this is in the water, how are you communicating with it? 476 00:25:36,667 --> 00:25:38,667 How are you getting data as to its position? 477 00:25:38,667 --> 00:25:42,300 So when it's in the water, we communicate through our Ranger system. 478 00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:45,200 The vehicle will send us information every minute. 479 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:47,467 But you don't actually get the sonar data, right? 480 00:25:47,467 --> 00:25:49,400 You actually have to recover the unit for that? 481 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,433 -Correct. -Okay, great. Well, let's get it in the water. 482 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,500 Okay. Walking it over. 483 00:25:59,100 --> 00:26:00,600 -Ready? -[Erik] Yep. 484 00:26:01,166 --> 00:26:02,700 [Josh] Okay, she's in the water. 485 00:26:04,867 --> 00:26:05,900 She's away. 486 00:26:07,166 --> 00:26:11,400 We deploy the AUV, aptly nicknamed "Hunter." 487 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,667 And in moments, it dives beneath the surface and begins its scan, 488 00:26:15,667 --> 00:26:19,200 systematically covering the preprogrammed search zone. 489 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:20,467 It's like a Roomba, 490 00:26:20,467 --> 00:26:23,000 if your Roomba costs three quarters of a million dollars 491 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,000 and could map 100 ft below your floor. 492 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,500 It's going to take six long hours for Hunter 493 00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:30,367 to cover the grid we've given it, 494 00:26:30,367 --> 00:26:33,266 which is based on 80-year-old intel. 495 00:26:33,266 --> 00:26:35,667 We'd love to confirm that this fishing village 496 00:26:35,667 --> 00:26:39,100 is the same one investigators encountered after the crash 497 00:26:39,100 --> 00:26:42,767 to know if we've sent our AUV searching in the right spot. 498 00:26:42,767 --> 00:26:46,400 So, Colin has an idea to get more recent data. 499 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,467 I say we head ashore, go to the village, 500 00:26:50,467 --> 00:26:53,867 see if we can find anyone, fishermen, older folks, 501 00:26:53,867 --> 00:26:55,266 who may have information. 502 00:26:55,266 --> 00:26:58,100 All right, now we just need to get to shore. 503 00:26:58,100 --> 00:27:00,567 To get to the village, Colin hails a ride for us. 504 00:27:00,567 --> 00:27:02,266 Bonjour. 505 00:27:02,266 --> 00:27:04,233 Let's call it a canoe-ber. 506 00:27:11,166 --> 00:27:14,767 We arrive at shore and step out... 507 00:27:14,767 --> 00:27:16,867 All right, merci. Thank you. 508 00:27:16,867 --> 00:27:18,667 ...into another time. 509 00:27:18,667 --> 00:27:20,667 Here, on the edge of the continent, 510 00:27:20,667 --> 00:27:22,767 a traditional fishing community 511 00:27:22,767 --> 00:27:25,066 living as they have for generations. 512 00:27:25,066 --> 00:27:29,100 Isolated on one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen. 513 00:27:29,100 --> 00:27:31,967 On any other day, I'd be hunting for a hammock, 514 00:27:31,967 --> 00:27:34,667 but we're here on more serious business. 515 00:27:34,667 --> 00:27:36,133 All right. Well, we're ashore. 516 00:27:36,133 --> 00:27:39,033 Now the question is, is there anybody left here that was alive back then? 517 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,500 -Bonjour. Bonjour, monsieur. -Bonjour. 518 00:27:43,500 --> 00:27:46,367 [Josh] Anyone alive here that could have witnessed the crash 519 00:27:46,367 --> 00:27:48,467 would have to be well into their 80s. 520 00:27:48,467 --> 00:27:51,867 So, we asked to speak to the oldest member of the community. 521 00:27:51,867 --> 00:27:53,367 -...Monogaga? -[speaks other language] 522 00:27:53,367 --> 00:27:55,300 [dubbed English] In the village, an old man. 523 00:27:55,300 --> 00:27:58,667 We have a man here who is nearly 100 years old. 524 00:27:58,667 --> 00:28:00,166 [in English] So 100, well 100 would be huge. 525 00:28:00,166 --> 00:28:01,800 -[Colin] That's what we're looking for. -Yeah, okay. 526 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,700 -[speaks other language] -[man] Yes, let's go. 527 00:28:03,700 --> 00:28:05,367 -[Josh in English] Let's go. Please. -[Colin] All right. 528 00:28:05,367 --> 00:28:06,300 [indistinct chatter] 529 00:28:09,166 --> 00:28:11,000 -[Colin] Bonjour, messieurs. -Bonjour. 530 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:12,500 -[Colin] Ca va? -Oui, ca va. 531 00:28:12,500 --> 00:28:14,767 -Bonjour. Bonjour, monsieur. -Bonjour. 532 00:28:14,767 --> 00:28:16,000 Bonjour. 533 00:28:18,066 --> 00:28:20,266 [in English] Thank you for taking a few minutes 534 00:28:20,266 --> 00:28:22,100 to talk with us. I appreciate it. 535 00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:24,467 Did you grow up here in Monogaga? 536 00:28:24,467 --> 00:28:26,300 [dubbed English] Yes, I was born here. 537 00:28:26,300 --> 00:28:28,166 And I have lived here my entire life. 538 00:28:28,166 --> 00:28:29,900 [in English] In 1945, 539 00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:32,967 an American airplane was flying 540 00:28:32,967 --> 00:28:35,700 just off the village here and crashed. 541 00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:38,166 Do you remember a plane crash here? 542 00:28:38,166 --> 00:28:39,233 I didn't see it, 543 00:28:39,233 --> 00:28:42,467 but I remember older people here talking about it. 544 00:28:42,467 --> 00:28:45,200 They said something had crashed into the water. 545 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:46,600 So, you heard about the story. 546 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:48,400 It was something people were talking about. 547 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:49,767 Yes. 548 00:28:49,767 --> 00:28:51,400 Something crashed into the water? 549 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,000 That's right. A huge plane just flew off the Point and went in. 550 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,000 Do you know if anything washed ashore, 551 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,867 like wreckage and metal and things like that? 552 00:28:59,867 --> 00:29:01,000 No nothing. 553 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,867 It was like it never happened. 554 00:29:02,867 --> 00:29:05,367 It just disappeared into the ocean. 555 00:29:05,367 --> 00:29:06,266 Nothing. 556 00:29:06,266 --> 00:29:08,266 Thank you very much for talking with us. 557 00:29:08,266 --> 00:29:09,567 Merci beaucoup. 558 00:29:09,567 --> 00:29:11,367 The village elder has confirmed that 559 00:29:11,367 --> 00:29:13,467 we are searching in the right place. 560 00:29:13,467 --> 00:29:16,500 And further, the fact that no debris or remains 561 00:29:16,500 --> 00:29:18,367 washed ashore after the event 562 00:29:18,367 --> 00:29:21,667 may mean the plane went down relatively intact. 563 00:29:21,667 --> 00:29:25,467 Which could make it easier for the sonar to image. 564 00:29:25,467 --> 00:29:29,467 Meanwhile, out on the water, Hunter finishes scanning the search zone, 565 00:29:29,467 --> 00:29:33,900 and the team scrambles to retrieve the AUV and extract its data. 566 00:29:35,300 --> 00:29:37,100 Colin and I rush back to the boat 567 00:29:37,100 --> 00:29:40,000 to see what, if anything, it discovered. 568 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,233 -Okay, here we go. -Yeah. 569 00:29:43,767 --> 00:29:46,600 All right, first question, is there data? 570 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,166 Yeah, we got some data. And in fact, about eight square kilometers of it. 571 00:29:50,166 --> 00:29:52,100 Great, that's a lot of seafloor. 572 00:29:52,100 --> 00:29:53,567 So, is there anything on it? 573 00:29:53,567 --> 00:29:55,100 We definitely have some promising targets. 574 00:29:55,100 --> 00:29:57,200 -Okay, take me through it. What do we got? -[Leila] All right. 575 00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:59,467 [Josh] These are individual sonar lanes we're seeing? 576 00:29:59,467 --> 00:30:00,967 [Leila] These are individual sonar lanes. 577 00:30:00,967 --> 00:30:03,200 So, we've got these funny looking bright spots here-- 578 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,500 -Ooh, this here. -[Leila] Yeah. 579 00:30:05,500 --> 00:30:07,767 Now, what's really interesting here is 580 00:30:07,767 --> 00:30:10,300 this linear pattern of debris. 581 00:30:10,300 --> 00:30:12,200 It does look like a scatter of objects. 582 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:13,767 [Mark] Yeah, it's pieces of something, 583 00:30:13,767 --> 00:30:15,567 and they're circular, it looks like. 584 00:30:15,567 --> 00:30:17,967 And they are just so contrasted 585 00:30:17,967 --> 00:30:19,667 -against the seafloor, right? -[Mark] Yeah. 586 00:30:19,667 --> 00:30:21,200 I mean, they're just sticking out like these 587 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,066 -bright circular targets. -[Mark] Bright-- Yeah. 588 00:30:23,066 --> 00:30:24,367 [Josh] Colin, what do you make of the fact that 589 00:30:24,367 --> 00:30:27,467 we just have these isolated individual objects here? 590 00:30:27,467 --> 00:30:29,600 [Colin] In most plane crashes, we're not gonna have 591 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:31,800 -something that looks exactly like a plane on the bottom. -Right. 592 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,000 It's going to get broken up and scattered. 593 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,367 So, this actually looks like a debris field that we might see. 594 00:30:36,367 --> 00:30:38,066 So definitely worth investigating? 595 00:30:38,066 --> 00:30:40,800 Hundred percent. We need to go down and look at what this thing is. 596 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:42,667 Okay. Anything else to look at? 597 00:30:42,667 --> 00:30:46,000 Yeah, we have one target that looks really interesting. 598 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,700 -Okay, what do you got? -Yeah, let's take a look. 599 00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:50,300 [excitedly] Ooh, what is that? 600 00:30:56,467 --> 00:30:58,033 [Josh] That's a big shadow. 601 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:00,367 When you see a shadow like that, 602 00:31:00,367 --> 00:31:02,600 it means that something's really pronounced 603 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,100 and high off the seafloor. 604 00:31:04,100 --> 00:31:06,000 [Josh] I'm off the coast of West Africa 605 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,567 in an area where almost 80 years ago, 606 00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:13,000 a C-47 loaded with members of the US Women's Army Corps 607 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,467 vanished into thin air, 608 00:31:15,467 --> 00:31:19,166 leaving 18 WACs and three crewmen missing in action. 609 00:31:19,166 --> 00:31:24,567 Now though, a sonar scan might add a new chapter to their mystery. 610 00:31:24,567 --> 00:31:27,767 Any idea how high this object is that's sticking up? 611 00:31:27,767 --> 00:31:30,166 [Mark] It's about 10-15 ft off the bottom, 612 00:31:30,166 --> 00:31:32,767 -really big. Sticking up, yeah. -[Josh] Sticking up 10-15 ft. 613 00:31:32,767 --> 00:31:36,266 This looks a lot more like something we might expect to find 614 00:31:36,266 --> 00:31:37,667 -if there's large pieces of wreckage. -Right. 615 00:31:37,667 --> 00:31:39,800 These are large objects that could be 616 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:41,967 reflective of a large aircraft like we're looking for. 617 00:31:41,967 --> 00:31:44,100 Drew, what do you think? Could that be wreckage? 618 00:31:44,100 --> 00:31:45,900 Yeah. I mean, I think it's definitely possible. 619 00:31:45,900 --> 00:31:48,166 I think we need to suit up and go for a dive 620 00:31:48,166 --> 00:31:49,567 -and put our eyes on it. -For sure. 621 00:31:49,567 --> 00:31:51,367 Well, we got a number of targets to look at. 622 00:31:51,367 --> 00:31:52,467 We got our work cut out for us. 623 00:31:52,467 --> 00:31:54,233 Yeah, two dives. 624 00:31:58,100 --> 00:32:02,100 [Josh] We motor out to the coordinates of the AUV's first sonar hit. 625 00:32:02,100 --> 00:32:03,800 Seventy-five meters. 626 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,166 [Josh] As we approach, we prep a shot line, 627 00:32:06,166 --> 00:32:09,000 a weighted marker that we can follow to the bottom. 628 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,367 Even in rough ocean currents, the shot line will ensure 629 00:32:12,367 --> 00:32:14,667 that we don't descend far from the target. 630 00:32:14,667 --> 00:32:18,233 Four, three, two-- Drop, drop, drop! 631 00:32:26,967 --> 00:32:29,000 [Josh] With the shot line in the water, 632 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,567 Drew, Mark and I prepare to dive down 633 00:32:31,567 --> 00:32:32,867 to what appears to be 634 00:32:32,867 --> 00:32:35,667 a debris field on the bottom of the ocean. 635 00:32:35,667 --> 00:32:36,734 All right, what's our move? 636 00:32:36,734 --> 00:32:39,467 We're gonna start with just these circular targets 637 00:32:39,467 --> 00:32:40,700 that are kind of in a line, 638 00:32:40,700 --> 00:32:42,467 -and just see what they are. -Right. 639 00:32:42,467 --> 00:32:43,500 Let's do it. 640 00:32:59,967 --> 00:33:03,266 [Josh over radio] 641 00:33:03,266 --> 00:33:05,600 Topside copies. Divers heading down the shot line, over. 642 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,700 [Josh speaking] 643 00:33:16,767 --> 00:33:18,700 [Mark over radio] 644 00:33:19,300 --> 00:33:22,433 [Josh speaking] 645 00:33:23,867 --> 00:33:25,767 How's the visibility down there? Over. 646 00:33:25,767 --> 00:33:27,700 [Josh speaking] 647 00:33:33,266 --> 00:33:35,266 [Mark speaks] 648 00:33:35,266 --> 00:33:37,467 [Josh speaks] 649 00:33:37,467 --> 00:33:40,800 To safely and efficiently explore around our target, 650 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,600 Drew clips a guide reel to our shot marker, 651 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:45,500 and we begin to swim outward. 652 00:33:48,166 --> 00:33:50,900 [Mark speaks] 653 00:33:51,367 --> 00:33:54,233 [Josh speaking] 654 00:34:05,867 --> 00:34:07,300 [Mark speaks] 655 00:34:07,300 --> 00:34:09,634 [Josh speaks] 656 00:34:14,767 --> 00:34:17,300 [Mark speaking] 657 00:34:23,066 --> 00:34:26,166 [Josh speaking] 658 00:34:26,166 --> 00:34:27,700 [Mark speaking] 659 00:34:27,700 --> 00:34:30,634 [Josh speaks] 660 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,400 [Mark speaking] 661 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,767 [Josh speaking] 662 00:34:40,767 --> 00:34:43,533 [Mark speaking] 663 00:34:44,567 --> 00:34:47,200 [Josh speaking] 664 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:48,100 [Mark speaks] 665 00:34:48,100 --> 00:34:51,000 [Josh speaks] 666 00:34:54,166 --> 00:34:55,867 Topside copies, not wreckage. 667 00:34:55,867 --> 00:34:58,000 That's disappointing to hear. 668 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,900 [over radio] 669 00:35:00,900 --> 00:35:04,800 [Mark speaking] 670 00:35:06,667 --> 00:35:08,367 [Josh speaking] 671 00:35:08,367 --> 00:35:11,834 We may have pulled a lot of "mussels," but we're hardly sore. 672 00:35:14,667 --> 00:35:16,233 Whoo. 673 00:35:16,233 --> 00:35:20,600 We return to the boat and aim for the coordinates of our second sonar hit. 674 00:35:23,767 --> 00:35:26,867 Which has a very different profile from the first one. 675 00:35:26,867 --> 00:35:29,767 Whatever this target is, it looks like it's sticking 676 00:35:29,767 --> 00:35:31,000 way up off the bottom. 677 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,100 -Way off, prominent shadow. -[Josh] Yeah. 678 00:35:33,100 --> 00:35:34,400 This is not a bed of mussels. 679 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,266 -No. -[Josh] No, this is something. 680 00:35:36,266 --> 00:35:38,400 The question is what. Here we go. 681 00:35:50,066 --> 00:35:52,266 [Josh over radio] 682 00:35:52,266 --> 00:35:55,567 [Mark over radio] 683 00:35:55,567 --> 00:35:58,834 [Josh speaking] 684 00:36:04,967 --> 00:36:06,967 [Mark speaking] 685 00:36:06,967 --> 00:36:09,700 [Josh] The current is powerful enough to pull us off the line 686 00:36:09,700 --> 00:36:11,266 and sweep us out to sea, 687 00:36:11,266 --> 00:36:13,634 so we descend as fast as we can. 688 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,300 Divers, topside. How's the descent looking? 689 00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:19,800 [diver over radio] 690 00:36:20,367 --> 00:36:22,500 [Josh speaking] 691 00:36:29,266 --> 00:36:30,567 [Colin over radio] 692 00:36:30,567 --> 00:36:33,333 Low visibility. Be safe down there, over. 693 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,900 [Josh speaking] 694 00:36:56,467 --> 00:36:59,100 Well, whatever this is, it should be sticking way off the bottom, 695 00:36:59,100 --> 00:37:00,900 so hopefully you run into it, over. 696 00:37:00,900 --> 00:37:03,000 [Josh] With conditions this murky, 697 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,567 it's risky for all of us to be groping in the dark 698 00:37:05,567 --> 00:37:07,066 without getting separated. 699 00:37:07,066 --> 00:37:09,166 So, Drew clips on to the shot line 700 00:37:09,166 --> 00:37:12,233 and explores in a wide circle around us. 701 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:19,233 We watch him disappear into the gloom and wait. 702 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:30,266 [Mark speaks] 703 00:37:30,266 --> 00:37:32,867 [Josh speaks] 704 00:37:32,867 --> 00:37:37,066 [Mark speaking] 705 00:37:37,066 --> 00:37:39,900 [Josh speaks] 706 00:37:59,367 --> 00:38:02,800 [Josh] I thought I knew about every possible way to enjoy chocolate. 707 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:03,900 [both] Cheers. 708 00:38:03,900 --> 00:38:05,300 Cocoa tea. 709 00:38:05,300 --> 00:38:07,100 But at the Bushman's Cafe, 710 00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:10,500 I learn about a serious blind spot in my repertoire. 711 00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:12,000 Okay, this is for the adults. 712 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,000 You can call it the moonshine cacao. 713 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,700 -Chocolate moonshine? -Yeah. 714 00:38:17,767 --> 00:38:19,667 -This is chocolate hooch? -Yes, it is. 715 00:38:19,667 --> 00:38:21,133 Okay. Is it strong? 716 00:38:21,967 --> 00:38:23,700 -Oh, boy. -[chuckles] 717 00:38:27,266 --> 00:38:29,467 -[loudly] Ooh! -[laughs] 718 00:38:29,467 --> 00:38:30,600 How you feeling? 719 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,266 I'm feeling like I want a bottle of this. 720 00:38:32,266 --> 00:38:34,300 This tastes like chocolate rum. 721 00:38:34,300 --> 00:38:36,233 How do I get a crate of this 722 00:38:36,867 --> 00:38:39,066 loaded into my luggage? 723 00:38:39,066 --> 00:38:41,400 Actually, we never actually thought about selling it so-- 724 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:42,967 You've never thought about selling this? 725 00:38:42,967 --> 00:38:46,367 -No, actually. [laughs] -Let me help you get rich right now. 726 00:38:46,367 --> 00:38:47,700 Put this in a bottle. 727 00:38:50,100 --> 00:38:52,000 It's my first time getting drunk on chocolate. 728 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,467 [laughs] 729 00:38:53,467 --> 00:38:54,834 I recommend it. 730 00:39:01,467 --> 00:39:04,767 [Josh over radio] 731 00:39:04,767 --> 00:39:06,667 Topside copies, something big. 732 00:39:06,667 --> 00:39:08,266 Can you tell what it is? 733 00:39:08,266 --> 00:39:10,667 [Josh] In the waters off of West Africa, 734 00:39:10,667 --> 00:39:13,400 I'm diving with the team from Project Recover 735 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:17,600 to locate a plane missing since the final days of World War II. 736 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,300 One which was transporting 18 members 737 00:39:20,300 --> 00:39:23,100 of the trailblazing Women's Army Corps. 738 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:38,700 [Mark over radio] 739 00:39:39,567 --> 00:39:42,400 [Josh over radio] 740 00:39:51,266 --> 00:39:53,300 Copy that. Natural feature, over. 741 00:39:54,100 --> 00:39:57,133 [Mark over radio] 742 00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:01,133 [Josh speaks] 743 00:40:03,166 --> 00:40:07,266 [Mark speaking] 744 00:40:07,266 --> 00:40:11,133 [Josh speaking] 745 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:15,767 [Mark speaks] 746 00:40:15,767 --> 00:40:18,333 [Josh speaks] 747 00:40:34,967 --> 00:40:36,667 Whoo. 748 00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:38,734 -All right, that was a heartbreaker. -Yeah, it was. 749 00:40:38,734 --> 00:40:41,100 You know, first of all, horrible visibility. 750 00:40:41,100 --> 00:40:42,767 [both] Terrible. 751 00:40:42,767 --> 00:40:46,567 But then out of the mist, you just see this dark shape rising up. 752 00:40:46,567 --> 00:40:49,300 -[Mark] Yeah. -[Josh] But definitely not a plane. 753 00:40:49,300 --> 00:40:54,900 We return to our vessel off the coast of Monogaga without our C-47. 754 00:40:54,900 --> 00:40:57,800 When the Army searched here in 1945, 755 00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:00,100 there was almost no infrastructure, 756 00:41:00,100 --> 00:41:02,000 and little has changed today. 757 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,367 This is a supremely hard place to investigate. 758 00:41:05,367 --> 00:41:07,900 Which is why nobody has in 80 years. 759 00:41:07,900 --> 00:41:11,266 And that in itself, is why we're here. 760 00:41:11,266 --> 00:41:14,000 At Project Recover, our goal is to bring our MIAs home. 761 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,867 And it's also really important for us to respect the memory of the fallen. 762 00:41:17,867 --> 00:41:20,367 Yeah, and I think a real accomplishment here is 763 00:41:20,367 --> 00:41:23,266 -simply getting this story out there for people. -Yeah. 764 00:41:23,266 --> 00:41:25,734 Not just the sacrifice of these women, 765 00:41:25,734 --> 00:41:27,667 but also just the incredible dedication 766 00:41:27,667 --> 00:41:30,066 and accomplishment of the Women's Army Corps. 767 00:41:30,066 --> 00:41:31,667 It's a story that not enough people know, 768 00:41:31,667 --> 00:41:34,166 -and I hope that we've brought some attention to it. -Yeah. 769 00:41:34,166 --> 00:41:37,066 And it's not the end of the search. This is just the beginning. 770 00:41:37,066 --> 00:41:38,400 We're gonna keep looking for them. 771 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:41,767 This is a special group of women who could have chosen to go home, 772 00:41:41,767 --> 00:41:44,100 but they wanted to go back to the war front and keep fighting. 773 00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:46,567 And we wanna respect that, and make sure we find 'em and bring 'em home. 774 00:41:46,567 --> 00:41:48,800 -Absolutely. -So, Josh, what we'd like to do now is 775 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,300 hold up the American flag and read off the names of the three crew 776 00:41:52,300 --> 00:41:56,400 and 18 Women's Army Corps soldiers that were aboard this aircraft. 777 00:42:02,266 --> 00:42:07,567 [reading] Alfred R. Ellis, Robert E. Mulhern, George A. Shiffman, 778 00:42:07,567 --> 00:42:10,767 Doris F. Cooper, Velma E. Holden, 779 00:42:10,767 --> 00:42:14,767 Flossie D. Flannery, Evelyn L. McBride, 780 00:42:14,767 --> 00:42:19,100 Rose F. Puchalla, Mildred E. Rice, 781 00:42:19,100 --> 00:42:23,100 Helen F. Rozzelle, Ruth E. Warlick, 782 00:42:23,100 --> 00:42:27,266 Alice D. King, Alice P. McKinney, 783 00:42:27,266 --> 00:42:30,767 Rose Brohinsky, Frieda C. Friend, 784 00:42:30,767 --> 00:42:34,734 Mary M. Gollinger, Odessa L. Hollingsworth, 785 00:42:34,734 --> 00:42:38,867 Wilma E. Liles, Leona M. Seyfert, 786 00:42:38,867 --> 00:42:43,233 Bonnie L. Williams, and Pearl Roomsburg. 787 00:42:45,567 --> 00:42:50,300 [Josh] These 18 brave women had to fight just to serve their country. 788 00:42:52,066 --> 00:42:56,667 They saw a war that engulfed the world, and they rushed to volunteer. 789 00:42:56,667 --> 00:43:01,500 And they gave their lives to make our world safer today. 790 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,667 At the beginning of the war, America didn't want women in the army. 791 00:43:10,667 --> 00:43:15,600 By the end, Douglas MacArthur called the WACs, "My best soldiers." 792 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:20,967 The Women's Army Corps continued to serve after World War II until the 1970s, 793 00:43:20,967 --> 00:43:25,000 when women were fully integrated in the US Army. 794 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:29,567 Today, women make up more than 16% of our nation's armed forces. 795 00:43:29,567 --> 00:43:34,467 More than 9,000 women have earned Combat Action Badges. 796 00:43:34,467 --> 00:43:37,867 The journey that started with women like the 18 MIAs 797 00:43:37,867 --> 00:43:42,166 on an ill-fated C-47, continues today. 798 00:43:42,166 --> 00:43:44,567 And while the hunt for their plane goes on, 799 00:43:44,567 --> 00:43:47,667 the most important duty we have is to ensure 800 00:43:47,667 --> 00:43:49,767 that their story is remembered 801 00:43:49,767 --> 00:43:52,467 so that their service and sacrifice 802 00:43:52,467 --> 00:43:54,567 will never be forgotten.