B-25D “Elusive Lizzie” Crew of Green Dragon Squadron

High Cost of Freedom

On the anniversary of Pearl Harbor today, the beginning of WW2 for America, I know everyone knows of the sacrifice of the brave sailors that day. There is, however, stories of uncommon bravery, sacrifice, torture and death at the hands of the Japanese after Pearl Harbor. The crew of “Elusive Lizzie’, a B-25D gunship, was shot down over Papua New Guinea in 1943. After getting an engine shot off, the B-25 landed in the water and one crew was killed on impact. The rest escaped to a nearby island and were subsequently captured by the Japanese. Major Williston Cox was tied to a palm tree for 5 days and beaten constantly. His teeth were knocked out but he refused to answer any questions. For the next two weeks,the rest of the crew were tied up, gagged, starved and beaten constantly, but all refused to answer questions. Major Cox was taken to Japan as a prison of war some days later. The rest of the crew were taken out into the woods, and bayoneted to death one at a time, as practice for the Japanese recruits, and then beheaded. One American pleaded with his captors to be shot instead of bayoneted: to no avail. Their bodies were eventually recovered and identified by dental remains. Major Cox survived the war and passed away in 1980. The wreck of “Elusive LIzzie” remains a popular diving attraction off the coast of Madang, Papua New Guinea as it lies in 60ft of water.

While this is the only thing left of the B-25, the heroism of 6 men will never rust and fade away. Valor is in you. Set it free.