July 23, 2006: In Search of the Lost Black Sheep

What happens when four boyhood friends gather on a front porch in Texas on December 7, 1941 and agree that it is time to go to war; and on that porch promise each other that no matter what happens, they will all come back. Years later the remaining three approach a man they have followed in the news; a former Marine pilot and Vietnam Veteran, who, after his retirement, set many single-engine aircraft world records. Their request: go to the jungles of Espiritu Santo (present-day Vanuatu) and find their lost friend. The story of the recovery of 2nd Lt. Wayland Bennett after eight years of persistent searching includes intrigue, jungle adventures, double-crossing and low-life black marketeers that even today search for and trade in the remains of missing American aircraft and crews.