Eight British airmen buried in Malaysia after 67 years
Eight British World War II airmen have been buried with military honors in Malaysia, nearly 70 years after their plane crashed while on a mission in Southeast Asia.
The eight were crewmembers of a Royal Air Force plane that left Cocos Island Aug. 23, 1945, to drop supplies for prisoners of war in what was then Malaya. The plane wreckage was found in a deep jungle by tribesmen in 1991, but the remains of the airmen were not uncovered until 2009.
The eight men were remembered and honored by name as families and relatives paid their last respects in a somber ceremony Oct 18. Their remains were interred in a single grave at a military cemetery in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur. AP
Pearl Harbor fleet undergoing changes
The Pearl Harbor fleet is undergoing some changes.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser says at least three surface ships are being retired.
Other changes are in works. A new destroyer will be named after a Hawaii-based SEAL commando. A destroyer from San Diego will be traded for one here, and more of the Navy’s latest-generation Virginia-class attack subs will be sent to Hawaii.
Officials say the 11-ship surface fleet will shrink, while the 19-sub fleet will grow.
Bruce Smith, a retired Navy captain and former chief of staff for the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force, says the changes are a sign of the new national defense policy emphasizing Asia and the Pacific being put into action. AP
