KEY POINTS:
The family of a World War II airman whose remains may have been found in the Solomon Islands would like to see him buried with his parents.
Air Force Sergeant Melville Moxsom, an only child, was one of five young men who died in 1945 when the Air
Force plane they were in crashed into a mountain on Malaita Island in bad weather.
The Ventura bomber exploded, leaving wreckage scattered through the jungle on May 28, near the end of the war.
A search party found some remains and buried them near the wreckage but it wasn't until June this year when Superintendent John Rivers was working in the Solomons that the discovery of further remains was revealed.
Mr Rivers, a New Zealand police officer based in the Solomons as part of the Ramsi peacekeeping force, said he was helping refuel a vehicle when he was told of Malaita and a plane that crashed there.
Legend had it that some of the remains of the New Zealand crew had been found years ago and placed in a cave but never buried.
That story started a two-month investigation which resulted in Mr Rivers and other New Zealand police visiting the mountain to recover the bones which are now in Honiara.
Police Assistant Commissioner Jon White said any decision about a final resting place would need to be made in consultation with the proper authorities but the first step was contacting next of kin.
So far descendants of at least two of the men have been found.
The pilot's now 80-year-old brother, Stephen Graham, is living in the South Island, while relatives of Sergeant Moxsom are in Thames.
Deirdre Moxsom said her husband Dennis was a second cousin of Sergeant Moxsom.
She said if the remains were returned to New Zealand they should be buried with his immediate family.
"My view is that if they are to be brought back then he should be buried where his parents are buried."
DEAD AIRMEN
* Flying Officer Keith Maxwell Graham, 20, Franz Joseph Glacier.
* Sergeant Eric George Priest, 21, Thames.
* Flight Sergeant Leo Parkes Marshall, 20, Raurimu.
* Sergeant Melville Pascoe Lawrence Moxsom, 20, Morrinsville.
* Sergeant Douglas David Read, 20, Kohu Kohu.
Police would like to hear from any next of kin. Phone Peter Kemp on 021 592 981 or email peter.kemp@police.govt.nz
