{"id":35422,"date":"2021-02-09T15:28:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/?p=35422"},"modified":"2021-11-29T20:42:44","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T19:42:44","slug":"david-tallichet-finds-missing-piece-in-aviation-history-in-papua-new-guinea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/david-tallichet-finds-missing-piece-in-aviation-history-in-papua-new-guinea\/","title":{"rendered":"David Tallichet Finds Missing Piece in Aviation History in Papua New Guinea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s not every day that you find a missing piece of history\nwhile out trekking. Of course, trekking in high-traffic paths will most likely\nnot result in anything breath-taking other than the view, but what happens when\nyou venture into the unknown? For one man, a restaurateur named David\nTallichet, finding a piece of history aviation history was exactly what\nhappened to him while walking through the jungles of Papua New Guinea. What was\nhis finding that baffled aviation-nuts back at home? Keep reading to find out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Father of themed restaurants<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
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Source: pinterest.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

David Tallichet is known for a lot of things, but perhaps he\u2019s most famous for being the father of themed restaurants. Granted, he wasn\u2019t the first person to create such an establishment, but he successfully set a trend that many future restaurateurs would follow suit. His first restaurant was a Polynesian-themed place set in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

2. Pre-restaurant military service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But before David entered the world of business and food service, he joined the US Army Air Forces during World War 2 where he was deployed to France. He co-piloted a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress of the 350th<\/sup> Bombardment Squad. He flew more than 20 air missions during his military career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

3. Married to a beauty pageant contestant<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: facebook.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 1955, while still active in the military, he was tasked with managing the Lafayette Hotel in Long Beach which hosted the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant that year. David was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with Miss Indiana, and they officially began dating. Before long, the pair tied the knot and became David and Cecilia Tallichet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

4. Love of the skies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: youtube.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David remained active in the military up until 1957 when we was discharged. He loved taking aircrafts to the sky, and his passion for flying didn\u2019t die when his military career ended. He\u2019d started his themed-restaurant business already, but planes were always in the back of his mind. He loved the skies as much as he did his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

5. Fleet of personal aircrafts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: pinterest.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Some people are content with collecting stamps, coins, or baseballs cards. Not David. His passion for flying soon brought him into the world of purchasing old aircrafts. His success in business allowed him to splurge on expensive, decommissioned planes, and he even spent time building replicas of old military crafts. Many pieces in his collection were featured in films like Pearl Harbor<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

6. Bringing life to old planes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: pinterest.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David was a true aviator and had a deep pool of passion for planes. He wasn\u2019t happy with just purchasing planes from sellers; he wanted to bring old, forgotten relics back to their former glory. The entrepreneur decided that he needed to travel to the locations of dilapidated airplanes, bring them back home, and restore life in them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

7. Hiking through Papua New Guinea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: pinterest.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So what did David do? He knew that traveling through frequently visited hiking paths would not produce his objects of passion. Instead, he decided to book a ticket to the mosquito-infested, underdeveloped lands of Papua New Guinea. Crazy? Indeed. But then again, most geniuses are known to be a bit out of their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

8. Moving forward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: pinterest.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David was crazy but not insane. He brought a team of travelers with him to accompany him on his quest to find broken-down planes in the middle of nowhere. Along with the other team members, David made the journey into the wild jungles of Papua New Guinea, into the homes of poisonous snakes and plants. David, as a former member of the military, was equipped with the survival skills needed to make it through the hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

9. Lost and found<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But no matter how prepared you are for a trip into the jungles, there\u2019s no doubt that you\u2019ll encounter the unexpected. For David, the unexpected came in the form of an old, forgotten aviation relic. How lucky do you have to be to find a missing aircraft on your first-ever trip into the wilderness? David Tallichet-level lucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

10. Going back to 1942<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The story of this lost-and-found aircraft actually begins in 1942 during the peak of World War 2. The war was ravaging the planet, taking out millions of people and relocating thousands more. A plan was hatched by the US Army to send Captains Fred Eaton and Harry Harlow on a top-secret, dangerous mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

11. Shot down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The 9-member team of war heroes took the craft from Australia through the enemy-ridden airs. It wasn\u2019t long before they were spotted by Japanese fighter planes in New Britain when the craft was shot. Things were looking bad for the team and their mission, and they had a very shallow pool of options to go with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

12. Nose dive into Papua New Guinea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: historicalfacts.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The team was left with very few options to choose from, and each alternative did not give them any sense of security. Unfortunately, time was against them as their plane was going down regardless, so they decided to nose dive into the jungles of Papua New Guinea. They knew that these jungles were not friendly to them, and any inhabitants \u2013 human or otherwise \u2013 would not treat them well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

13. Fighting against nature<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: missing.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The plane was totaled after the nose-diving into the jungle, but thankfully all of the crew was still alive. However, there was no time to celebrate this victory as they were physically weakened by the crash, had a finite amount of resources at their disposal, and were not familiar with the land. With every ounce of strength, they deserted their crashed aircraft and began the arduous trek through hostile territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

14. Lost and forgotten<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The crew of 9 members left the craft and continued by foot to complete their mission. For the rest of the war, the pilots had performed admirably considering what happened to them, but unfortunately, the mission was not a success. As for the crashed plane, it was left to deteriorate in the middle of the jungle. There was no way to bring these people back after the crash, let alone search and rescue the destroyed plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

15. Swamp Ghost<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After the war, nobody knew the whereabouts of the missing craft. The only thing the military understood was that it crash-landed in Papua New Guinea, but the coordinates were unknown. This was the only intact, un-retired B-17E Bomber, and nobody knew where it was. But David\u2019s arrival at the crash site changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

16. No more wasting time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: warhistoryonline.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David knew that bringing the dilapidated aircraft back home would be one of his biggest challenges. After reaching the crash site, the plane lay abandoned for nearly an entire year before he returned with the proper gear to tie it up and bring it back to the States. However, as anyone could have predicted, this was a lot easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

17. Disassembling the craft<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: imgur.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David and his crew spent months disassembling the B-17E Bomber, and they airlifted each piece to a waiting boat by helicopter. David already knew that tearing the plane apart would be difficult, but he hadn\u2019t foreseen the problems of airlifting each piece and how much longer he\u2019d have to stay to monitor the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

18. Broken wing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: lifedaily.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After taking one of the wings off, they strung it up to the helicopter and prepared for the trip back to the awaiting boat. But disaster strikes at the most inconvenient times. The ropes were not tightened well enough, and as the helicopter was transporting the wing, the ropes snapped and the wing fell. This, of course, meant spending several more hours bringing the wing back to open ground and re-tying it to the chopper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

19. Returned and retired<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: pinterest.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Finally, after several weeks of hard work, David\u2019s crew had successfully transported every piece of the Swamp Ghost. The plane was rebuilt and officially retired. The Swamp Ghost had finally been put to rest, after spending decades in the middle of the jungle with nothing but snakes and mosquitoes for company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

20. The Final Rest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Source: pinterest.com\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At long last, the missing aircraft was returned to the\nStates where it was retired. In 2007, David Tallichet, loving husband,\nsuccessful entrepreneur, and a pilot for all of his adult life, had passed\naway. He may be gone, but his contribution to the US Army and to the world will\nnever be forgotten. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not every day that you find a missing piece of history while out trekking. Of course, trekking in high-traffic paths will most likely not result in anything breath-taking other than the view, but what happens when you venture into the unknown? For one man, a restaurateur named David Tallichet, finding a piece of history […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[235],"tags":[465,466,469,467,468,464],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35422"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35685,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35422\/revisions\/35685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lintmit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}