Lost in Shangri-la

Three months before the end of World War II, a U.S. Army plane flying over New Guinea crashed in uncharted mountains inhabited by a Stone Age tribe. Nineteen passengers and crew were killed and two were mortally wounded. But somehow three survived: a lieutenant whose twin brother died in the crash, a sergeant who suffered terrible head wounds, and a beautiful member of the Women′s Army Corps.

Hurt, unarmed and afraid, they prayed for deliverance -- from their wounds, from the elements, and from the spear-carrying, Dani tribesmen who roamed the mountains, men who were untouched by modernity. For seven weeks, the survivors experienced one remarkable adventure after another, until they were rescued in a truly incredible mission.

Using a huge range of sources, including first hand accounts from the survivors themselves, Mitchell Zukoff exposes the enlightening and terrifying adventure of three individuals lost on uncharted soil and the relationships they built not only with each other, but also with a lost civilization.

Shangri-la: The Epic True Story of a World War II Plane Crash into the Stone Age

Near the end of World War II, American airmen stationed in the South Pacific found a secluded tropical valley in Dutch New Guinea where Army maps showed only mountains. On a Sunday afternoon in May 1945, a sightseeing trip over the valley carried fifteen Army officers and enlisted men and nine members of the Women′s Army Corps. When the plane crashed into a jungle-covered mountain, nineteen passengers were killed and two mortally wounded. But somehow three survived: a lieutenant whose twin brother died in the crash, a sergeant who suffered terrible head wounds, and a beautiful member of the WAC.

Hurt, unarmed, and afraid, they prayed for deliverance-from their wounds, from the elements, and from the spear-carrying Dani tribesmen who roamed the mountains naked but for long gourds covering their genitals. The three hiked through the jungle for three days before they were spotted by search planes above. But the Army had no idea how to rescue them. Until a plan took shape, a cowboy colonel ordered a crack unit of paratroopers and medics to parachute into the valley to protect them.

Meanwhile, the outsiders′ arrival fulfilled an ancient prophecy for the Dani: Legends foretold light-skinned "spirits" would climb down a rope from the sky to herald the End of Days. Now the natives had to decide whether to befriend the spirits or kill them.

What followed was perhaps the greatest untold story of World War II, a gripping tale of survival, discovery, anthropology, heroism, and a near-impossible rescue mission. For seven weeks, the survivors experienced one remarkable adventure after another-some terrifying, some enlightening, some comic.

Throughout this time, the Army′s Far East Command staff struggled to devise a rescue plan-vacillating between two 100-mile marches, one way through headhunter territory and the other through 10,000 Japanese troops. The idea they eventually settled on could have been pulled from a comic book: A lightweight glider would be dropped on the floor of the valley, then with everyone onboard, an army plane would swoop down to hook a cable attached to the glider and pull it up above the jungle. Any wind could have easily thrown both the plane and the glider into the mountains on all sides. A rogue filmmaker with a checkered past as a B-movie actor and a jewel thief parachuted in to capture the daring attempts to pull off the rescue. And the Dani chose to spare their lives and aided in their descent from the mountain into the lush region known as Hidden Valley but nicknamed "Shangri-La."