Why a Booktrail?
1940s: A remarkable journey in all senses of the word. A remarkable journey to undertake via fiction too.
Lost in Shangri-La
What you need to know before your trail
In 1945 a remarkable rescue mission took place
Other world events seemed to overshadow it but the author Mitchell Zuckoff rescued this remarkable story and managed to locate one of the survivors. Lost in Shangri-La is his testament to the people who went through the event.
As World War II draws to a close, an Army C-47 transport plane takes off from Base G in the town of Hollandia, on the north coast of New Guinea. 24 military personnel are aboard and as they fly over a part of the jungle Shangri-La in honor of the fictional utopia of James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, they are keen to see this newly found settlement
But then the plane crashes and sadly only three people survive.
Travel Guide
1945 New Guinea is a huge island – much of it remote and is in fact the second largest in the whole world so to find yourself stranded there must have been bad enough without being badly injured. Added to the fact the cannibals and Japanese soldiers are your new neighbours and a remarkable story is about to take place. This is the story of Michael Rockerfeller
This would almost be like the land that time forgot if it weren’t a shocking and brutal true story. the jungle is not a safe place at the best of times but it is a whole other ballgame when you’re injured in enemy territory.
This is a story of man against the environment both physical and physiological and it’s a brave and shocking tale. Fascinating too for the people that you come across. Speaking of the natives, they are described as untainted or untouched by civilization and use rudimentary tools such as bows and arrows. Not overtly religious they worshipped the power of the spirits and would butcher people to appease them.
The Filipino paratroopers who go into help search for any survivors are an amazing group of people too. In fact this story would be unbelievable if it weren’t true. The old photos illustrate and chronicle this amazing story.
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