Staff Sgt. Benjamin Woods, the 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron air freight supervisor, places a pallet of Spanish coins in a line at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 23, 2012. The coins, which were lost at sea in the 19th century, are being palletized in preparation for their long awaited return back to Spain. (U. S. Air Force photo/Airman Basic David Tracy)
by Senior Airman Rachelle Coleman
6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
2/24/2012 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- Two Spanish Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft left here Feb. 24 after being loaded with approximately 17 metric tons, or approximately $500 million, of Spanish gold.
The two aircraft were dispatched by the Spanish Government to retrieve Spanish coins that were lost at sea in the 19th century.
The gold was discovered by the Odyssey Marine Exploration treasure hunting corporation in 2007. Odyssey recovered the treasure from the Atlantic Ocean floor after finding the wreck off the coast of Portugal with a remote-controlled underwater robot.
Airmen across MacDill helped ensure the gold was loaded safely onto the waiting aircraft. More than a half-million silver and gold coins will be returned to the Spanish government.
Comments
6/1/2012 4:30:44 AM ET Yarr they'd best keep their hands off of this captain's booty
Captain Tardif, Kadena AB
4/19/2012 11:27:49 AM ET I don't know about you, but this must be one of the biggest legal heist ever. I mean we actually helped them load the gold onto their planes. I imagine a conversation in a spanish bar would go something like, "and not only did we steal their gold -- which by the way we stole in the 19th century, lost it and now stole it again -- but we made them pick it up from the bottom of the ocean and load it onto our planes! cheers! hahaha."
Chris, JBSA
4/17/2012 4:59:23 PM ET doesn't matter We helped them by securing it and storing it. Blood gold doesnt belong to them.
doesn't matter, ga
4/17/2012 1:54:27 AM ET Note for those up in arms about the US gov't transporting this back the article says SPANISH C-130s flew the gold back.....
Capt Kangaroo, OCONUS
4/13/2012 1:25:20 PM ET Nobody is pro-conquistador here you don't need a soapbox it happened centuries ago please drop it. This is just a cool story about sunken treasure.
Lucas Phlipsak, Beale
4/9/2012 9:49:21 AM ET What a bunch o' yellow-bellied squids I'll be tarred and feathered before they take away more o' me pirate booty
Capt Freeman, Greater Arizonian Ocean
4/5/2012 7:00:05 PM ET also glad to see that every commenter is just as ashamed as I am that we returned gold soaked in blood to the Spanish. Disgraceful
gabe, moody
4/5/2012 6:57:05 PM ET Its rediculous that the joke of a spanish government let this group search find and recover the gold before they made their claim for it. Its BS. I wouldnt be proud to be on the mission to return it too them. Let them come and get it. Both the Air Force and the diversexplorers who found it should send the Spanish a bill for their troubles.
gabe, moody
4/4/2012 5:47:08 PM ET Really are you serious. OMG this is why i can't stand politicains.
SSgt REALLY, OCONUS
4/4/2012 3:37:10 PM ET Spain needs to pay a finders fee to the commercial salvage company and a transportation tax and fees to the US Govt. To heck with the Spaniards only reason we did this is they are part of NATO. Their gold let them pick it up off the ocean floor.
Steve, US
4/2/2012 4:31:20 PM ET looks like some people need to watch the history channel and discovery more. the oddyssey recovered the gold from a ship that the spanish say was part of their fleet. you cant salvage a nations ship. only private and commercial vessels. it was a big international incident. last i heard odyssey was still trying to prove that it was a commercial ship. of course there were politics involved.
lee, ok
3/29/2012 7:51:07 AM ET If Spain cared about this treasure so much why didn't they recover it themselves Instead they sat idle while our people went to the trouble and expense of locating and salvaging it and then shipping it over to them. Did anyone receive a penny from Spain for any of this
Simon, U.S.
3/28/2012 5:08:18 PM ET Steve is correct. The treasure is part of the plunder the Colonials took from people they slaughtered and enslaved--the ones they didn't kill. But an argument like that could cause a firestorm regarding Europe's colonial past. Such is the way of the world. But the ship's point of departure could invalidate or validate that conclusion.
Lloyd Charles, SATX
3/28/2012 2:02:15 PM ET And why is our military and tax money being used to protect and load Spanish silver and gold? Why aren't commercial services being used at Spain's expense?
Steve, CONUS
3/28/2012 10:53:45 AM ET Why did our Gov involved anyway. Except for the political reasons. I would bet the Spanish Gov did not reimburse the company that brought it up. I beleive that IF the insurance company paid a claim then the its finders keepers. Also since the gold was not mined in Spain, it should belong to the country of orgin. Hence Spain just stole the gold. I guess thats life..
Robert, Florida
3/28/2012 10:12:55 AM ET The Spaniards stole the gold from the Americas and now we are helping them take it home....Wow
Just me, California Desert
3/28/2012 7:31:35 AM ET So the DoD is cutting back spending and reducing our manning, but we can allocate resources and manpower to aid the spanish government in getting richer...im confused how does this help the USA?
Mark, Lajes Field
3/27/2012 1:31:13 PM ET That gold is a product of slavery, genocide and rape of the indeginous population in Central and South America. That gold should be used to help the surviving tribes.
Julio, Washignton DC
3/7/2012 9:46:36 AM ET It is my understanding the gold was found in international waters and has not been proven without a shadow of a doubt this gold is the property of Spains. Spain claims it to be a sunken frigate from the early 1800s. Stong possibility it's South American Gold and not Spains. Finders Keepers, the Odyssey Marine Exploration team and their share holders are the rightful owners of the gold.
Marty, Arkansas
3/7/2012 9:18:22 AM ET The Spanish government never relingished their rights to any property that is lost. They always demand it back and win in court. I thinkd there is a lesson here.
Reese, CONUS
3/2/2012 8:55:58 AM ET Interesting story, not quite sure why we didnt just keep it to help pay off debt, but hey who am i to judge.
A-1C Barker, Hanscom AFB
3/1/2012 7:31:53 AM ET A drop in the bucket. You killed my people for this, women, children and the elderly while they slept. I pray for the Spanish Soldiers who sit in front of the piles of gold God has given to me, the seven cities of O'la do exist even you have forgotten the mission.This is about God.
Eddie Scott Yazzie, North America
2/29/2012 11:18:49 AM ET I assume the only way they can claim 'legal' right to the gold would be that after being lost at sea the Spanish government paid out a claim on the insured ship.But the kid in me just wants to thumb my nose at them and go Bwpfftttttt
Thomas, Ohio
2/29/2012 8:34:57 AM ET What Steve said.
JJ, TX
2/28/2012 2:46:22 AM ET GO STEVE My history is a little fuzzy but I am pretty sure gold was being forcefully taken from the Americas and the native people and being shipped to Spain not the other way around.
Bill, Aviano IT
2/27/2012 2:11:13 PM ET What ever happened to 'finders keepers'
Ken, America
2/27/2012 12:06:43 PM ET Steve is dead on.
Robert, CONUS
2/26/2012 1:46:23 PM ET How much of that does the U.S. get for finding it
jeff, virginia
2/25/2012 9:59:30 AM ET Garrrrr Return my booty back to the sea where I left it you scaliwags
Capt Splitz, 7 Seas
2/25/2012 12:18:42 AM ET Are the Spanish planning to continue the chain by returning the gold to the rightful owners whose enslaved ancestors retrieved it primarily in Central and South America
