By SANDRA COX - The Press
The remains of two young Kiwi airmen killed in a World War 2 plane crash have been found in the Solomon Islands by New Zealand police. Police and the New Zealand Defence Force are now embarking on a national search to find relatives of all five crew members – six decades after their deaths. The Royal New Zealand Air Force servicemen – all aged 20 or 21 – were killed when their Ventura PV1 bomber crashed and exploded on Malaita Island, 50km north-east of Guadalcanal, on May 28, 1945. The crew had left Honiara on a dawn patrol just after 6am. On the way back, the plane failed to clear a steep hill in bad weather and crashed at 1650 feet. The servicemen killed with Flying Officer Keith Graham were: Sergeant Eric George Priest, 21, of Thames; Flight Sergeant Leo Parkes Marshall, 20, of Raurimu; Sergeant Melville Pascoe Lawrence Moxsom, 20, of Morrinsville; and Sergeant Douglas David Read, 20, of Kohukohu, Northland.