19 DECEMBER 1944
1st Lt. Kenneth N. "Doc" Hunter, pilot of "Playmate Four Two", departed Morotai at 0545 with instructions to proceed to Kanapasan Island, 05°11'N, 120°38'E in the Sulu Archipelago, arriving at his rendezvous point at 1025. At 1150, fighter escort joined him and they proceeded to Languyan Point, Northwest coast of Tawi Tawi Island, where four survivors were reported to be in the hands of friendly natives and guerillas. Arriving at Languyan Point at 1130, they circled the area five times before the sighted natives waving excitedly on the beach. Lieutenant Hunter, landed offshore and contacted the natives who informed him that the four survivors were up the river about one half mile with Guerilla Colonel Suares. Lieutenant Hunter taxied up the mouth of the river, contacted the Colonel and took the survivors and one seriously wounded Filipino Guerilla aboard. Colonel Suares pleaded with Lieutenant Hunter to bring the guns and ammunition which were urgently needed. The natives were also in dire need of clothing and medicine.

The survivors were 1st Lt. John W. Emig, S/Sgt John W. Davies, S/Sgt Adolph L. Desmarais, and S/Sgt William A. Gillissie.  Lieutenant Emig and Sergeant Gillissie were both wounded and in need of medical attention. The rescued men are members of the 23rd Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, who bailed out of their burning B-24 1 November 1944. They were attacked by 20 Nip fighters off the Northern tip of Negros Island. The co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Ralph Lankford and the bombardier, 2nd Lt. Eugene Nagle, were killed by strafing as they floated down in their parachutes. S/Sgt John Duarte and T/Sgt Robert H. Mahanes Jr.; who were the only members of the surviving crew strong enough to row, rounded up all the survivors, and helped them into the life raft.

About noon, 2 November 1944, they left the survivors and started to shore for help, leaving the four wounded and injured in the large raft. Sgts Durate and Mahanes were rescued 17 November 1944 near the village of Lelong on Negros. They had sent natives out to search for those they left but the natives were unable to find them. The two members of the crew who went ashore in the second have not been heard from. The four injured men in the large raft had no paddles and little food or water. Lt Emig related the following course of events: with no paddles, they were at the mercy of the sea currents. They drifted Southwest and waited for the rescue ship that never came. Lieutenant Emig let his severely wounded leg trail in the water, this being the only position in which he could be comfortable. They bathed their wounds frequently in the ocean water which gradually lessened the inflammation and permitted healing to set in. Sgt Dessarais had removed the flak and redressed the wounds daily, washing out the old dressings in the sea water then reapplying them. During the day, they covered themselves with tarpaulin, blue side up, to avoid detection by the Japs. On the fourth day they passed out of site of land. Their water was gone and only a few peanuts and pemican were left. Lieutenant Emig stated that they drank urine flavored with lemon extract on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th days. He stated "When you are dying of thirst, you'll drink anything." He estimated they passed one half pint of urine in 24 hours. On the 9th day it rained and they drank all they could hold and filled all their containers. It rained daily after the 9th day, providing them with sufficient water. They caught fish and birds with their hands and ate them raw, not wasting a bit of the precious meat. They even sucked the marrow out of the bones. They helped each other to get into the water as often as their strength permitted. Lieutenant Emig insisted that they all exercise daily. From the 19th to the 29th day, they were without food, being unable to catch any fish or seagulls. On the 23rd of November, they were sighted by a Navy plane which dropped them two bags. However, the bags broke when they hit the water and they succeeded in recovering but six cans of water and three head nets. Their spirits were raised, knowing that their position was charted and rescue planes would be searching for them. Lt Emig had great difficulty keeping Sgt Dessarias alive with assurances that they would be rescued. On the 29th day they were again sighted, the plane dropping a box of food and which again broke when it hit the water. However, they recovered four chocolate bars, some malted milk tablets, fruit bars, more water and rations. They feasted on their meager rations. On the 30th of November, they were again sighted by a ship of the 307th Bomb Group, which dropped them a life raft, radio, and three boxes of rations. This incident renewed their hopes but severe storms arose and lasted for three days, blotting out any chance of their being seen by search planes which they could hear through the days of storms.

On the morning of the 33rd day, they sighted land and paddled slowly toward a small island. They dragged themselves ashore and immediately began looking for food, but could find none. They slept ashore that night and the next morning they placed Sgt Gillissio in the raft and waded along the beach. They circled the island until they came upon a coconut grove where they found a few dried coconuts. They remained there on the 34th day and the next morning slowly paddled to another small island where they were found by a  Filipino boy who gave them food, buried their raft and took them in his canoe to the Governor of Sibuti Island. The Governor also fed them after which a native doctor attended their wounds. Their strength returned rapidly and on 7 December they set sail in native canoes for the Headquarters of the Guerilla forces on Languyan Point on Tawi Tawi Island, where they remained until their rescue on 19 December 1944. They were brought to Morotai and sent to the 155th Station Hospital. [Photo 1][Photo 2]
 
They had drifted over 600 miles in 33 days and at one time were off the Northern coast of Borneo, but the current carried them in a Southeasterly direction around the Eastern tip of Borneo to Sibuti Island where they were found by friendly natives. Our ships had gone out repeatedly to search for them but could never contact them, inasmuch as they were far West of the regular airplanes.

TIMELINE: documented by the crew and submitted with Squadron History -

AIRCRAFT: OA-10A*     
USAAF SERNO: 44-33880  (CV-332)**
CALLSIGN:  "Playmate 42" 
CREW: (Pilot) 1st Lt. Kenneth N. "Doc" Hunter; (Co-Pilot) 2nd Lt. Eugene Fontinell; (Navigator) 1st Lt. Peter "PBY" Naylor; (Engineer) Tech Sergeant Donald W. Brown; (Radio) Sergeant Carl J. Sisco; (Radar) Sergeant John T. Smith Jr.; (Surgical Tech) Sergeant Dean W. Renner; [See the Crew]