On May 18, 1958, a B-26 bomber crashed into the sea near Ambon, Maluku. Its pilot, Allen Lawrence Pope, managed to parachute to safety but was later captured by Indonesian forces.
His capture created a major problem for the United States because Pope had been involved in a covert operation supporting rebels fighting against the Indonesian government.
To understand how an American pilot became involved in an Indonesian rebellion, it is necessary to look at the country's political situation in the late 1950s.
A Newly Independent Indonesia, Growing American Concerns
Indonesia declared independence in 1945 and secured Dutch recognition of its sovereignty in 1949. In the following years, the central government continued to face tensions with regions demanding greater autonomy.
By 1958, these tensions had escalated into rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi. One of the movements was Permesta in Sulawesi. Amid the conflict, the United States secretly supported anti-communist rebel groups.
Washington was concerned about the influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which had gained a role in national politics under President Sukarno. Although Indonesia was not a communist country, Sukarno's political accommodation of the PKI made the United States increasingly wary of the country's direction.
American support extended beyond political assistance. Around six American-made B-26 bombers were used in air operations supporting rebels in eastern Indonesia. Allen Lawrence Pope was one of the pilots involved in these operations.
Who Was Allen Lawrence Pope?
Pope was no inexperienced pilot. At 31, he had served as a lieutenant in the United States Air Force and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service during the Korean War.
After leaving military service, he flew for Civil Air Transport in Formosa, the name used for Taiwan at the time.
In April 1958, Pope arrived in Indonesia from Clark Air Base in the Philippines. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in an air operation supporting the rebels. On April 28, the day after his arrival, he attacked the port of Donggala in Central Sulawesi.
Two days later, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower was asked by NBC reporter Ray Scherer about reports that American citizens were flying aircraft for Indonesian rebels.
Eisenhower said he was not familiar with the details. He also remarked that every rebellion he had heard of had its soldiers of fortune, a term for people who fight for pay.
He added that the State Department would assure the Indonesian prime minister that the United States would continue to act appropriately. However, less than three weeks later, American involvement became increasingly difficult to deny.
A Plane Goes Down, Exposing a Covert Operation
On May 18, 1958, Pope flew a B-26 with radio operator Harry Rantung. According to ACIG's 2010 reconstruction, he bombed an airfield in Ambon before attacking an Indonesian Navy convoy heading toward Morotai to confront Permesta forces.
The aircraft was hit by gunfire. Pope and Rantung parachuted out before the B-26 crashed into the sea. They landed on a small island off the western tip of Ambon and were captured by government forces.
Pope's capture put Washington in a difficult position. The American government initially tried to portray him as an ordinary mercenary. However, documents he carried, including a membership card for the officers' club at Clark Field, linked him to the American military network.
On the day of Pope's capture, US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles also discussed the rebellion with CIA Director Allen W. Dulles and General Cabell. They assessed that the rebels had little chance of winning in the long run.
About three days later, the Eisenhower administration decided to withdraw its support for the rebels. Dulles described the decision as pulling the plug, meaning cutting off the support that had sustained their operations.
On May 22, Dulles informed the Australian ambassador that the United States had withdrawn its support from rebel groups in Sulawesi. On the same day, the United States and Indonesia signed an agreement for the delivery of 35,000 tons of surplus rice worth approximately US$5.5 million.
Without American support, the rebels grew weaker, and the rebellion ended within months.
The Fate of an American Pilot
Pope was tried in Jakarta in December 1959 on charges of aiding Indonesia's enemies and taking up arms against the country. On April 29, 1960, he was sentenced to death. A military appeals court upheld the verdict in December that year.
However, Pope was not executed. In February 1962, US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy visited Jakarta and asked President Sukarno to release him. Sukarno did not immediately set a release date, but later told the American ambassador that he planned to free Pope within four or five weeks.
Pope was eventually released in 1962, more than four years after his aircraft went down near Ambon.
