Meet Arizona Jones

by Thomas Reiner, Quartz Mountain Commentary, ©2025 

(Jan. 13, 2025) — Arizona is proud to be home to its own Indiana Jones. Like his fictional counterpart, he explores remote places in the world and recovers lost treasure. Indiana Jones has adventures that find ancient relics but Arizona Jones finds something much more valuable which Americans treasure. He finds downed aircraft and the missing bodies of brave American airmen lost while “flying the Hump” in World War II.

“The Hump,” as it was colloquially called, was the perilous Himalayan mountain route between India, over Burma and China, which was an air route for Allied Pilots to supply both Chinese fighting forces and United States Army Air Forces based in China to fight the Japanese. This was no joyride where 594 aircraft were lost, mostly C-46 Commandos and C-47 Skytrains, resulting in 1,659 crew casualties. Without radar, communication systems, emergency landing strips, treacherous storms, turbulence, icing and even hostile Japanese fire, these brave airmen gave their lives. The dead crew and aircraft have remained lost for decades in the mountains and jungles throughout Burma and China.

And then along came “Jones.” 

Actually, our “Arizona Jones” is an Arizonan named Clayton Kuhles who lives in Prescott. He runs MIA Recoveries, Inc. whose mission is search and recovery. He has successfully led self-financed expeditions which has resulted in discovery of 27 lost aircraft accounting for 279 lost airmen. Discovery of the crash sites is more than strapping on your Birkenstocks and firing up your Google Map for a day hike.

Fallen aircraft wreckage tends to be in mountainous areas or thick jungles. After doing investigations of flight plans and other clues, Clayton leads his team to the area and makes contact with local villagers who tend not to know English. He makes friends with them using interpreters until he hits paydirt, learning of villager lore that is 60-70 years old about the wreckage. A villager joins his team and leads them through rugged terrain of dense pathless jungle, mountains, raging rivers … and snakes. Indiana Jones might be afraid of snakes but our Arizona Jones isn’t. 

Upon discovery of the crash site, the team documents the wreckage, especially looking for engine and aircraft identification numbers and other evidence. Human remains are sometimes found. Recovery includes carrying human remains back to US control and repatriation to the families. Even after decades, his recovery of distant relatives brings closure and gratitude to the families who incurred these losses long ago, and Clayton becomes their hero.

Expeditions have included the Yukon, Central America, the Andes, West Africa, and New Guinea. Clayton is currently organizing a recovery effort in China which is supportive as they still appreciate America’s military assistance in WWII. 

If you would like to find out more about these incredible adventures and learn how you can help, then go to www.MIArecoveries.org.