World War 2 aviators laid to rest after eight decades

The remains of two aviators from 100 Squadron Beaufort A9-186 were laid to rest in a moving committal service on Monday, May 19, at Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby.

CAPTION: Royal Australian Air Force personnel from Australia’s Federation Guard and 100 Squadron carry the caskets of Warrant Officer Russell Grigg and Warrant Officer Clement Wiggins in Port Moresby, PNG. Story by Squadron Leader Karyn Markwell. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Aiesha Katz-White.

Warrant Officer Russell Grigg (navigator) and Warrant Officer Clement Wiggins (pilot), who lost their lives during a mission over Papua New Guinea in September 1943, joined more than 3300 Australian and 40 New Guinean defence personnel laid to rest at Bomana.

They were the first Air Force aviators from World War 2 to be identified using DNA identification processes.

Family representatives of the two aviators, along with Deputy Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Harvey Reynolds, and Australian and Papua New Guinean dignitaries, paid their last respects as the aviators were interred in their final resting place.

After a ramp ceremony in Australia – where their remains had been brought for identification – a RAAF bearer party escorted the remains of Warrant Officers Grigg and Wiggins to Port Moresby on board a Hercules aircraft.

CAPTION: Personnel from Australia’s Federation Guard and No. 100 Squadron carry the caskets of Warrant Officer Russell Henry Grigg and Warrant Officer Clement Batstone Wiggins to an awaiting Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland.

The committal service, presided over by Air Force chaplain Squadron Leader La’Mont Ferreira, concluded with a military farewell including live rifle volleys, the Last Post and a minute’s silence.

Squadron Leader Ferreira spoke of both sadness and hope during his address to families and guests.

“We thank God for the lives of Russell Grigg and Clement Wiggins, and mourn and honour them,” he said.

“We support with our love and prayers those who for many years have been burdened with sadness and uncertainty because they did not know where their loved ones lay.”

After the service, Roger Grigg, the grandson of Warrant Officer Grigg, shared that it meant a lot to his family to finally be able to say goodbye.

“It is fitting to bury my grandfather in this peaceful location, at rest with so many other Australians who never came home,” Dr Grigg said.

“My family is grateful to the Air Force for giving us the opportunity to say goodbye.”

The wreckage of Beaufort A9-186 was found in 43 metres of water, 1.4 kilometres south-west of Gasmata airfield, in late 2020.

Air Force’s Historic Unrecovered War Casualties team was invited to participate in the February 2022 mission, which identified the aircraft and recovered suspected osseous material.

NSW Health’s Forensic and Analytical Science Service started its analysis of the recovered material in late 2022, and by April 2023, Defence had confirmed the identities of Warrant Officers Grigg and Wiggins.

The remains of the two other crew members on board, Flight Sergeant Albert Beckett and Flight Sergeant Gordon Lewis Hamilton, could not be recovered.

The search and investigations of Beaufort A9-186 were sponsored by Andrew Forrest from the Minderoo Foundation.

The initial discovery of A9-186 was made by an Ocean Ecology Pty Ltd dive team working for Dr Forrest as part of an ongoing search for his uncle, who was lost during a mission to Gasmata while piloting a similar RAAF Beaufort aircraft.

The missions had the full support of all levels of the PNG Government.

CAPTION: The caskets of Warrant Officer Russell Grigg and Warrant Officer Clement Wiggins during their committal service.

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