Posted: November 3rd, 2009
The Airmen and the Headhunters
Image Gallery
See archival images, stills from reenactments, and images of the men today who lived “The Airmen and the Headhunters”.
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- Dan Illerich pictured with his B-24 Liberator bomber crew – “The Coberly Crew,” who were shot down over Borneo in 1944. The downed airmen were rescued and protected from the Japanese by headhunting members of the Dayak tribe.
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- Pictured are some of the Dayaks who protected the US airmen and fought the Japanese in Borneo during World War Two.
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- Tom Harrisson (in a rare wartime photograph) - the British Major who devised an audacious rescue plan to get the US airmen out of Borneo.
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- British Major Tom Harrisson and some of his Australian commandoes on the bamboo airstrip in June, 1945. Harrison and his men launched an audacious rescue plan to get the US airmen out of Borneo. On the right of the flagpoles is the head of a senior Japanese official, brought to Harrisson as a gift from one of the local headmen.
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- An reenactment scene of downed American Airmen meeting Dayak tribesmen shot in Nanga Ulai, Sarawak, Borneo.
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- An reenactment scene of downed American airmen shot in Nanga Ulai, Sarawak, Borneo
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- US WWII veteran, Dan Illerich, the sole surviving downed airmen rescued by the Dayak tribesmen pictured with a L-3 Aeronca, a lightaircrft similar to the plane in which he was rescued from Borneo.
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- WWII veteran Bob Long, one of the Australian Commandoes of Semut1, Z Special Unit lead by Major Tom Harrison who helped rescue downed airmen in Borneo. Long worked as a radio operator with Dan Illerich.
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- WWII veteran Sergeant Jack Tredrea, one of the Australian Commandoes of Semut 1, Z Special Unit led by Major Tom Harrison to rescue downed airmen in Borneo. Tredrea lead and trained guerilla forces to fight against the Japanese.
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- Belaan Ayu, one of the Dayak tribesmen who helped rescued the downed American airmen during WWII.
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- Melayung Ulun, one of the Dayak tribesmen and Major Tom Harrison’s assistant who helped rescued the downed American airmen during WWII.
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- Belapang Baru, one of the Dayak tribesmen who helped rescued the downed American airmen during WWII
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- Malai Ruguk, one of the Dayak tribesmen who helped rescued the downed American airmen during WWII.
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- Ganang Laban, one of the young Dayak boys who saw the US bomber crash in the jungles of Borneo.
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- Kapung Balang, one of the young Dayak boys who saw the US bomber crash in the jungles of Borneo.
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- Judith Heimann, historian and author of The Airmen and the Headhunters: A True Story of Lost Soldiers, Heroic Tribesmen and the Unlikeliest Rescue of World War.
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Thank you for the program about the fighting on Borneo. I worked on the Island in the 1990’s and visited longhouses with skulls in the rafters and heard some tales of the war. This made the stories come to life.
This is an amazing story and well told. My father was on Harrison’s Oxford Sarawak expedition in 1934. It was a great surprise to catch a glimpse of him in the group picture of that expedition in this film. Harrison approached him to join his guerilla group in 1944 but, as an RAF pilot, the decision was not his. I feel fortunate to have been in the US to see this film.
The Kelabit man second from the right is my father. How can I get a copy of this photograph?
My father was a veteran of the USAAF a B-25 Flight Engineer in the South Pacific. He died in 1995. He never forgave the Imperial Japanese military.
My Uncle William Kelly has shown me photos of him
with headhunters lined up on each side of him with
japanese heads on the ground ten heads.he was shot down and stayed with them untill he was rescued.I would greatly appreciate someone who remembers his name to contact me at my e-mail
revelation1010@live.com
Saw the television premiere on PBS last evening (Veterans Day)…what an incredible piece of history! The bravery of these native people is amazing. Our American soldiers were in good hands with these folks.
I’m half-Kelabit with an American dad and was born and raised in the US. This is so amazing because my Kelabit grandfather is in the black & white photo!! I remember hearing stories about when the Japanese landed in the jungle during the war and one of my uncles showed me a helmet that he found when he was a small boy. I’m glad PBS chose to do this story.
What an inspiring documentary! Such great people, the soldiers and tribesmen. Thank you for such riveting stories.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing story.
Fantastic and amazing story! Well done.
Great Show! I was in Sarawak with the Peace Corps in mid-60’s. At that time, I understood that Harrison was credited with restarting headhunting, and not the Dyaks alone. This story credits the Dyaks and their Indonesian born district officer with initiating the practice as part of protecting the airmen. Nice job weaving old video footage with the reenactment and live interviews.
Our uncle, Frank MacDonald was a very close personal friend of Ruby and Phil Corrin, parents of airman Phil Corrin. We have our Uncle’s copy of Phil’s handwritten diary, pictures and correspondence re his experience. We were excited to watch the program because for years I kept thinking what an exciting feature/movie this diary would make.
We would be happy to donate our information somewhere. Any ideas?
Maxine Hall
Thank you
Maxine Hall
I’m now going to contribute to my local PBS KET
network because I feel so guilty for watching the best TV out there free, Thanks for a great story
and EPIC tail.
Russell in KY
Great story. I was in Sarawak (Borneo) in 1962 to 64 and herd various snippets of the Airmen and the Headhunters and of Tom Harrison’s role. We were not sure if all the stories were true. Thanks for clearing up the story. Tom Harrison became the Director of the first rate Sarawak Museum in Kuching. His wife Barbara Harrison was also with the museum but became best known for setting up the orphaned Orangutan hospital and rehabilitation center. She authored a good book titled ‘Orang-Utan’, 1962, Collins Press, London.
Daniel Illerich is my stepfather and to hear the story first hand is amazing. To ask questions of the last man from the AirCrew is a blessing. We are proud of his service and glad you enjoyed the documentary.
This program catches the essence of Borneo life and culture and tells a fascinating story. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I worked on Borneo from 1984 to 2001 and had a few ventures into the outback. My most memorable trip involved staying with an Iban family 100km up the Rajang, Mujong and Oyang rivers for the Gawai Festival. The story and the photos brought back a lot of memories for me and I would like to thank PBS for making this show available to everyone on the internet. I posted an article about my trip on the following web page; http://panlatuan.com/Photos/GAWAI_Festival.htm.
If you are seeking information concerning this story, please email me at danmacfarlane@yahoo.com and I will pass your request on to Dan Illerich.
I came to realize of the success of this production through my cousin Davin, whose grandfather is also among the Kelabits in the black & white picture. Glad to be contacted by Vic Procter on your humble intentions in April. A little correction if you don’t mind, the Kelabits are under the ‘Orang Ulu’ group (Highlanders).. Not Dayaks. Other than that, my best wishes and congratulations to the team at PBS and all the contributors around the globe. I’m proud to be a descendant of Kelabit warriors and today, we’ll get to watch a glimpse of the past.
I have a head hunters club that my Uncle brought from WWII for my dad. They are both deceased now at one time there was a picture that went with it. I recently gave this to my 38 yr.old son as he was also fasinated with it. Does anyone have pictures of their clubs.