November 14, 2025 • 8 mins
A plane held together by rope, bamboo, shouldn’t fly—yet five men bet their lives that it would. We share the true story of RCAF pilot Rudy Mendizabel and a small Allied crew who scavenged two wrecked Lockheeds on a bombed-out Java airfield and built one improbable lifeline. With a cratered runway, engines shaking, and surrender orders closing in, they chose risk over captivity and aimed for the open sea…
On Remembrance Day, this story becomes more than an adventure; it’s a lens on sacrifice, resilience, and the ordinary choices that people make in pursuit of freedom.
If this story moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves real-life war history and aviation, and leave a review to help others find it. Your words help keep these memories alive …For What it’s Worth
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Blake Melnick (00:03):
Well, welcome to this episode of For What It's
Worth.
It's Remembrance Day Today, andI thought I would share a story
that came to me from my motherabout a relative of ours who
served in the Second World War.
It was originally published inthe Toronto Evening Telegram on
April 10th, 1943.
I've modernized it a bit andadapted it for the show.
(00:25):
It's a true story, and it'sdedicated to the memory of
Flying Officer Rudolfo RudyMendizable and to all those who
served with honor, courage, andin defense of our freedom for
what it's worth.
It may well be the mostextraordinary flight of the
Second World War, and thecentral figure is a quiet
(00:47):
Toronto-born RCAF pilot whohelped build a working airplane
out of two wrecked ones to makean impossible escape from
Japanese-occupied Java.
The pilot is Flying OfficerRudolfo or Rudy Mendizable, a
University of Toronto athlete,and the son of Ralph Mendizabel,
a Bolivian-born high schoolteacher from Sarney, Ontario.
(01:10):
Rudy is also the nephew of Dr.
Allen Roy Dafo of DionQuintuplet fame, and of Dr.
William Allen Dafo, Mrs.
S.
H.
Henry, Mrs.
William M.
Martin of Toronto, and Mrs.
John Marcellus of Milton,Ontario.
Alongside two Australians, aNew Zealander and a Dutchman,
(01:32):
Mendizabel risked everything toflee Java just ahead of the
advancing Japanese forces.
Flying a makeshift airplanethey had literally tied together
with rope, bamboo, and aprayer, their tools included a
sixpence coin used as ascrewdriver.
The story came to light notfrom Mendizabel himself, he
(01:53):
never spoke of it, but throughletters from Australia.
The aunt of one of hiscompanions, Sergeant Stuart
Munro, later wrote to Rudy'smother and Sarnia, telling her
that her son and four others hadperformed strange and wonderful
things together.
Munro would later be reportedmissing and presumed killed.
(02:14):
The full account eventuallysurfaced in a New Zealand
newspaper, told by SergeantPilot Douglas Jones, the New
Zealander in the group, and itremains one of the most
remarkable escape stories of thewar.
Jones explained that he hadjust arrived in Singapore, fresh
from Durban, when Japanesebombers attacked the city twenty
(02:35):
six times.
There were no planes left tofly, so his unit withdrew,
eventually reaching Java, wherethey waited hopelessly for
aircraft that never arrived.
As Japanese forces began theirassault on the island, Allied
troops were told to prepare fora last stand.
But Jones and a few others,including Mendizabel, decided to
(02:56):
take their chances elsewhere.
They found a convoy of brokendown trucks in Batavia, repaired
them with whatever they couldfind, and drove back to their
camp.
When word came that theJapanese were advancing and that
all troops were required tosurrender, the small group of
men made another decision.
They would escape on their own.
(03:16):
Driving along the coast, theycame across an abandoned
airfield littered with thewreckage of bombed out aircraft.
Among them were two damagedLockheed 10 Electras, twin
engine planes once used by theDutch Air Force.
One had its tail blown off, butthe engines were still
operational.
The other had a destroyed nose,but an intact tail section.
(03:39):
The men saw the samepossibility at once.
They could build one workingaircraft from the two wrecks.
With almost no tools, theyworked frantically.
Jones used his sixpence coin asa screwdriver.
Ball bearings, locking pins,and cables were tied together
with rope.
They lashed the tail into placewith bamboo and string.
(04:01):
Holes in the fuselage werepatched with wood and cork.
They even found spare fueltanks and secured them inside
the cabin with rope and bamboo,running a hose through the side
to feed fuel directly into thewings.
By the next morning, theFrankenstein aircraft was ready.
Calculations showed that theycouldn't reach Australia, so
(04:23):
they planned to fly up the coastof Sumatra, which was still
partly under Dutch control.
But before they could leave,they learned that the Dutch
forces had surrendered and haddestroyed all remaining
airfields.
Their only available runway wascratered and uneven and barely
wide enough for the plane'slanding gear.
The Dutch pilot, who had flownLockheeds before, took the
(04:47):
controls.
With the engine shakingviolently, they raced down the
broken strip, dodging craters,the plane struck the edge of one
and bounced into the air,clearing the fence by inches,
and then they headed out to sea.
The group flew 800 miles up thecoast of Sumatra and landed at
Madden, where Dutch troopscleared the airfield for them
(05:10):
and treated them as heroes.
After refueling, they set outagain for Ceylon, which is now
called Sri Lanka, tasked withdelivering the critical codes to
the British Admiralty torestore contact with Allied
forces in the region of Kutarajanear the southern tip of
Sumatra.
They barely escaped anotherJapanese air raid.
(05:32):
As bombers approached, theytore off the camouflage, gunned
the engine, the plane liftedjust as enemy aircraft came into
range, missing the surroundingtrees by inches.
They turned towards the opensea, pursued briefly by Japanese
planes before escaping out ofrange.
Hours later, nearly out offuel, they spotted land.
(05:55):
Not knowing whether it wasIndia or Ceylon, they pressed on
until they saw ships in aharbor which turned out to be
Colombo.
The warships immediatelychallenged them with signal
lamps, demanding anidentification flare.
The men had a single verypistol on board, but didn't know
the correct color of the day.
(06:16):
They chose at random two redstars and fired.
By sheer luck, it was thecorrect signal.
They landed safely with onlyminutes of fuel remaining.
The journey from Java had takenover fifteen hours in total,
and they had done it in apatched together aircraft held
(06:36):
together with rope, hope, andingenuity.
Back home in Sarnia, the familyfirst learned of Rudy's role in
the escape through a letterfrom Monroe's aunt.
In early 1943, official reportshad listed him as missing,
believed killed in the Far East.
Only later did Ottawa confirmthat he was alive and serving in
(06:59):
India, and that the earlierreport had been an error.
Rudy had already earneddistinction as a pilot,
previously shot down twice overSingapore and Java while flying
hurricanes with 232 Squadron,yet he survived both times.
Following the daring escape,Rudy continued his service with
No.
5 Squadron in India.
(07:20):
On August 21st of that year,during a training exercise near
Subinarica River, his aircraftstruck a sandbank and exploded.
He was killed instantly.
He was only 25 years of age.
Rudy's story is about more thanwar.
It's about ingenuity, faith,and the unyielding human spirit.
(07:42):
In that patched together planebuilt with rope, bamboo, and a
coin, we see something essentialabout ourselves.
Our capacity to improvise, toendure, to help one another in
the darkest of times.
Rudy didn't set out to be ahero.
He simply did what needed to bedone.
That's the quiet essence ofservice.
(08:05):
Rudy's story reminds us thatfreedom is not a given.
It is protected and renewed byordinary people who rise to
extraordinary moments.
And on this remembrance day, weremember them all.
Those who fought, those whoserved, those who sacrificed,
and those who carried thememories home.
(08:25):
Service, honor, selflessness,sacrifice, resilience,
remembrance, and freedom.
For what it's worth.
Well, welcome to this episode of For What It's
Worth.
It's Remembrance Day Today, andI thought I would share a story
that came to me from my motherabout a relative of ours who
served in the Second World War.
It was originally published inthe Toronto Evening Telegram on
April 10th, 1943.
I've modernized it a bit andadapted it for the show.
(00:25):
It's a true story, and it'sdedicated to the memory of
Flying Officer Rudolfo RudyMendizable and to all those who
served with honor, courage, andin defense of our freedom for
what it's worth.
It may well be the mostextraordinary flight of the
Second World War, and thecentral figure is a quiet
(00:47):
Toronto-born RCAF pilot whohelped build a working airplane
out of two wrecked ones to makean impossible escape from
Japanese-occupied Java.
The pilot is Flying OfficerRudolfo or Rudy Mendizable, a
University of Toronto athlete,and the son of Ralph Mendizabel,
a Bolivian-born high schoolteacher from Sarney, Ontario.
(01:10):
Rudy is also the nephew of Dr.
Allen Roy Dafo of DionQuintuplet fame, and of Dr.
William Allen Dafo, Mrs.
S.
H.
Henry, Mrs.
William M.
Martin of Toronto, and Mrs.
John Marcellus of Milton,Ontario.
Alongside two Australians, aNew Zealander and a Dutchman,
(01:32):
Mendizabel risked everything toflee Java just ahead of the
advancing Japanese forces.
Flying a makeshift airplanethey had literally tied together
with rope, bamboo, and aprayer, their tools included a
sixpence coin used as ascrewdriver.
The story came to light notfrom Mendizabel himself, he
(01:53):
never spoke of it, but throughletters from Australia.
The aunt of one of hiscompanions, Sergeant Stuart
Munro, later wrote to Rudy'smother and Sarnia, telling her
that her son and four others hadperformed strange and wonderful
things together.
Munro would later be reportedmissing and presumed killed.
(02:14):
The full account eventuallysurfaced in a New Zealand
newspaper, told by SergeantPilot Douglas Jones, the New
Zealander in the group, and itremains one of the most
remarkable escape stories of thewar.
Jones explained that he hadjust arrived in Singapore, fresh
from Durban, when Japanesebombers attacked the city twenty
(02:35):
six times.
There were no planes left tofly, so his unit withdrew,
eventually reaching Java, wherethey waited hopelessly for
aircraft that never arrived.
As Japanese forces began theirassault on the island, Allied
troops were told to prepare fora last stand.
But Jones and a few others,including Mendizabel, decided to
(02:56):
take their chances elsewhere.
They found a convoy of brokendown trucks in Batavia, repaired
them with whatever they couldfind, and drove back to their
camp.
When word came that theJapanese were advancing and that
all troops were required tosurrender, the small group of
men made another decision.
They would escape on their own.
(03:16):
Driving along the coast, theycame across an abandoned
airfield littered with thewreckage of bombed out aircraft.
Among them were two damagedLockheed 10 Electras, twin
engine planes once used by theDutch Air Force.
One had its tail blown off, butthe engines were still
operational.
The other had a destroyed nose,but an intact tail section.
(03:39):
The men saw the samepossibility at once.
They could build one workingaircraft from the two wrecks.
With almost no tools, theyworked frantically.
Jones used his sixpence coin asa screwdriver.
Ball bearings, locking pins,and cables were tied together
with rope.
They lashed the tail into placewith bamboo and string.
(04:01):
Holes in the fuselage werepatched with wood and cork.
They even found spare fueltanks and secured them inside
the cabin with rope and bamboo,running a hose through the side
to feed fuel directly into thewings.
By the next morning, theFrankenstein aircraft was ready.
Calculations showed that theycouldn't reach Australia, so
(04:23):
they planned to fly up the coastof Sumatra, which was still
partly under Dutch control.
But before they could leave,they learned that the Dutch
forces had surrendered and haddestroyed all remaining
airfields.
Their only available runway wascratered and uneven and barely
wide enough for the plane'slanding gear.
The Dutch pilot, who had flownLockheeds before, took the
(04:47):
controls.
With the engine shakingviolently, they raced down the
broken strip, dodging craters,the plane struck the edge of one
and bounced into the air,clearing the fence by inches,
and then they headed out to sea.
The group flew 800 miles up thecoast of Sumatra and landed at
Madden, where Dutch troopscleared the airfield for them
(05:10):
and treated them as heroes.
After refueling, they set outagain for Ceylon, which is now
called Sri Lanka, tasked withdelivering the critical codes to
the British Admiralty torestore contact with Allied
forces in the region of Kutarajanear the southern tip of
Sumatra.
They barely escaped anotherJapanese air raid.
(05:32):
As bombers approached, theytore off the camouflage, gunned
the engine, the plane liftedjust as enemy aircraft came into
range, missing the surroundingtrees by inches.
They turned towards the opensea, pursued briefly by Japanese
planes before escaping out ofrange.
Hours later, nearly out offuel, they spotted land.
(05:55):
Not knowing whether it wasIndia or Ceylon, they pressed on
until they saw ships in aharbor which turned out to be
Colombo.
The warships immediatelychallenged them with signal
lamps, demanding anidentification flare.
The men had a single verypistol on board, but didn't know
the correct color of the day.
(06:16):
They chose at random two redstars and fired.
By sheer luck, it was thecorrect signal.
They landed safely with onlyminutes of fuel remaining.
The journey from Java had takenover fifteen hours in total,
and they had done it in apatched together aircraft held
(06:36):
together with rope, hope, andingenuity.
Back home in Sarnia, the familyfirst learned of Rudy's role in
the escape through a letterfrom Monroe's aunt.
In early 1943, official reportshad listed him as missing,
believed killed in the Far East.
Only later did Ottawa confirmthat he was alive and serving in
(06:59):
India, and that the earlierreport had been an error.
Rudy had already earneddistinction as a pilot,
previously shot down twice overSingapore and Java while flying
hurricanes with 232 Squadron,yet he survived both times.
Following the daring escape,Rudy continued his service with
No.
5 Squadron in India.
(07:20):
On August 21st of that year,during a training exercise near
Subinarica River, his aircraftstruck a sandbank and exploded.
He was killed instantly.
He was only 25 years of age.
Rudy's story is about more thanwar.
It's about ingenuity, faith,and the unyielding human spirit.
(07:42):
In that patched together planebuilt with rope, bamboo, and a
coin, we see something essentialabout ourselves.
Our capacity to improvise, toendure, to help one another in
the darkest of times.
Rudy didn't set out to be ahero.
He simply did what needed to bedone.
That's the quiet essence ofservice.
(08:05):
Rudy's story reminds us thatfreedom is not a given.
It is protected and renewed byordinary people who rise to
extraordinary moments.
And on this remembrance day, weremember them all.
Those who fought, those whoserved, those who sacrificed,
and those who carried thememories home.
(08:25):
Service, honor, selflessness,sacrifice, resilience,
remembrance, and freedom.
For what it's worth.
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