Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea issued a scathing critique of Joe Biden on Sunday, following comments made by Biden that insinuated the wartime fate of his uncle involved cannibalistic acts by the natives of New Guinea.
Joe Biden accused New Guinea cannibals of likely eating his Uncle Bosey when his plane crashed on the tropical island decades ago.
On Wednesday, Biden was interviewed by reporters on the tarmac as he was departing Scranton, Pennsylvania. The shocking story concerns the final days of dear Uncle Bosey.
“Ambrose Finnegan, we called him Uncle Bosey – he was shot down, he was Army Air Corps before there was an Air Force. He flew a single-engine plane, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea and he volunteered when someone couldn’t make it and he got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals…” said Joe Biden
Joe Biden later reported this story about Uncle Bosey during his remarks in Pittsburgh to a group of steelworkers.
“My Uncle Bosey he was Army Air Corps before the Air Force came along. He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones and he got shot down in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals – for real – in that part of New Guinea,” Biden said.
The Pentagon’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, however, provides a different account of the events, stating that Biden’s uncle’s aircraft crashed in the Pacific Ocean due to engine failure, with no evidence to suggest any involvement of cannibalism.
According to official records, “Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash. One crew member survived.”
The Biden White House later admitted that the story was mostly a lie – which it was. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden lying about cannibals eating his uncle was a “proud moment” for him.
The Prime Minister’s office released a statement expressing dismay over Biden’s comments, emphasizing that such narratives unjustly label the nation and its history.
Marape told AP“While the president’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such.”
“World War II was not the doing of my people; however, they were needlessly dragged into a conflict that was not their doing,” Marape added.
“The remains of WWII lie scattered all over PNG, including the plane that carried President Biden’s uncle,” Marape said.
“Perhaps, given President Biden’s comments and the strong reaction from PNG and other parts of the world, it is time for the USA to find as many remains of World War II in PNG as possible, including those of servicemen who lost their lives like Ambrose Finnegan,” he said.
“The theaters of war in PNG and Solomon Islands are many, and littered with the remains of WWII including human remains, plane wrecks, ship wrecks, tunnels and bombs. Our people daily live with the fear of being killed by detonated bombs of WWII,” Marape added.
New Guinea academics are blasting Joe Biden for his baseless cannibalism story.
Perturbed New Guinea Academics Lash Out at Joe Biden Over Cannibalism Claims: “They Wouldn’t Just Eat Any White Man Who Fell from the Sky”