ITANAGAR, 29 Nov: Chief Minister Pema Khandu and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti inaugurated ‘The Hump WWII Museum’, the second museum in Asia dedicated to the fallen airmen of the Allied forces during WWII, in Pasighat in East Siang district on Wednesday.
“We come here today not just to mark history but to make history. To see the ways with which each one of us is called not just to witness the past but to do something to change the future,” said Garcetti in a ceremony to mark the occasion.
He profusely thanked and expressed gratitude to the Indian government, the government of Arunachal Pradesh and the team behind the museum, headed by its Director Oken Tayeng.
“This isn’t a gift only to Arunachal Pradesh, or to the families whose lives will be affected when they come here, but it is a gift to India and to the world,” he said.
Reiterating that the US would always remain grateful to the people of Arunachal for saving lives and helping US pilots and soldiers during WWII while flying over ‘The Hump’, Garcetti said, “Such human values bind the two countries together in friendship.”
Stating that the United States is committed to its friendship with India, the US ambassador informed that there was a meeting between NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and top space officials of India to deepen bilateral cooperation across a broad range of innovation and research-related areas, especially in human exploration and earth science. He said that the NASA would this year facilitate an Indian to be a part of space exploration from its station in the US.
“Today, how can we not but step up to be a great friend to India, to recognise her borders, all of them, and to respect them and to call on the world to do the same,” he said.
Khandu while welcoming the ambassador and his entourage said that the museum is a tribute from the people of Arunachal to the fallen heroes of WWII.
He said that “history should not be allowed to fade away with time,” and expressed optimism that “this museum will remind the younger generation of the daredevilry of the Allied forces who flew over the ‘The Hump’ to fight against the threat to democracy and freedom.”
Informing that there are about 30 locations where remnants of WWII aircraft are still believed to exist, Khandu urged the US ambassador to facilitate exploration of these locations to retrieve the remnants, and assured to provide full support of the state government.
He also lauded the efforts put in by Oken Tayeng and his team for making his vision a reality.
The pilots of the Allied forces nicknamed the air route from airfields in Assam to those in Yunnan in China ‘The Hump’ because their aircraft had to navigate deep gorges and then quickly fly over mountains rising beyond 10,000 feet. From 1942 to 1945, military aircraft transported nearly 6,50,000 tonnes of supplies like fuel, food and ammunition.
In 2016-’17, the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency had deployed a team for 30 days in search of remains of unaccounted-for US airmen. There are approximately 400 US airmen missing in India, most of whose remains are believed to be located in the Himalayan mountains in the Northeast, particularly in Arunachal.
The US ambassador was accompanied by Political Minister Counsellor Graham Mayer, labour adviser A Sukesh, Col Aaron Cooper and Col Douglas Hess of the US Air Force, the air attaché, and a team from the US consulate in Kolkata, headed by Management Officer Jeffrey Sakurai.
The inaugural ceremony was attended also by MLAs Kaling Moyong, Lombo Tayeng and Ninong Ering, Chief Secretary Dharmendra, and others. (CM’s PR Cell)
