1c) This poem he wrote was published in the October 22, 1942 issue of CBI Roundup (http://cbi-theater-1.home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-1/roundup/roundup102242.html):

AN AIR CORP EXILE'S LAMENT
I'm sick of the Black and Tartar
I am sick of the Hausa, Malsy
And far away spots on the chart are
No place for yours truly to stay.
I've had of undersized chicken
And milk that comes out of a can
The last is no region to stick in
For this one particular man.
I am weary of curry and rice
All mingled with highly spiced dope
I am weary of bathing with lysol
And washing with carbolic soap.
I am tired of itch and spin diseases
Mosquitoes and vermin and flies
I am fed up with the tropical breezes
And sunshine that dazzles your eyes
To eat without fear of infection
To sleep without using a net
And throw away all my collection
Of iodine, quinine, et cet.
To hear all the noise and the clamor
The hurry and fret of the west
I'd trade all of the Orient Glamour
That poor lying poets suggest.
They sing of the East as enthralling
That is why I started to roam
But I hear the Occident calling
Oh Lord I want to go home.
- Pfc. Robert L. Looney

Class of Bombardier 2nd Lt. Harvey M. Nix

Hump airmen returning from a walkout

During World War II, the Allies lost hundreds of aircraft in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater of operations. The losses were incurred by the US Army Air Corp (forerunner of the US Air Force), the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and to a lesser degree the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) and the Chinese Air Force (CAF). Although hostile fire from Japanese forces accounted for many Allied aircraft losses in the CBI theater, the majority of Allied crashes were caused by inhospitable weather, mechanical failure, or navigational error.

The Aluminum Trail published in 1989 by Chick Marrs Quinn, lists over 700 US aircraft lost in the CBI theater. The personnel losses were far in excess of this number, as most aircraft had multiple crewmembers and were often transporting passengers. The US Dept. of Defense stated in 2004 that more than 500 US aircraft and 1200 crewmembers were still missing in the CBI theater from WW II, with nearly 416 Americans remaining missing in India alone. Nowhere in the CBI theater were the aircraft losses higher than on the notorious "Hump" route between US airbases in northeast India and airfields in Yunnan province of China. Many of these aircraft were never found, and their crew and passengers have been declared "Administratively Dead" or MIA.

I have taken on the project of searching for as many of these MIA aircraft as I can find. Generally speaking, each wreck site has unrecovered remains of the aircrew and any passengers who may have been aboard during its ill-fated last flight. A detailed report with GPS coordinates and photo documentation has been prepared for each crash site I have found. I send my reports to the Joint POW / MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) of the US Dept. of Defense. JPAC will hopefully mount an investigative mission to each site to recover any US remains that can be found there. Reports on crash sites involving British or Canadian aircraft are forwarded to the appropriate personnel in those countries.