About

SYMA is Formed

A group of pilots from the 339th Fighter Squadron, together with a number of interested fellows like Joe Pruett and his friends in the VFW in Kansas City, decided to form a 501(c)(3) corporation to accept contributions and make a trip to the jungle and examine the wreckage and bring detailed information back to the Office of Air Force History. The charter for the Second Yamamoto Mission Association (SYMA) was recorded 29 December 1988.

Mr. Al Kauslick was an engineer with the copper mine on Bougainville and interestingly he was a personal friend of Tom Lanphier. Al Kauslick told SYMA that he could get the company helicopter to take a party into the jungle and save a full day of walking through the jungle trail. The team was formed and was ready to go when the Civil War in Bougainville broke out and the team could not get visas.

Click here to view the SYMA charter.

Click here to contact SYMA.