ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 95728
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 November 1942 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Beechcraft AT-7 Navigator |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 41-21079 |
| MSN: | 1094 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Darwin Glacier, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Mather Field, California |
The Beech AT-7 41-21079 of 341st School Squadron, departed Mather Field, California, on 18 November 1942, on a routine navigational training flight. The pilot was 2nd Lt. William R. Gamber of Fulton County, Ohio. His three students on this flight were Aviation Cadets John W. Mortenson of Latah County, Idaho, Ernest G. Munn of Belmont County, Ohio and Leo M. Mustomen of Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
When the aircraft and crew failed to return to their base a search was begun that went on for weeks with negative results. The war went on and then ended. The crew became just one of many listed as missing. But in 1947, that would change.
Hikers on Darwin Glacier, California stumbled across aircraft wreckage on 24 November 1947. A search party was dispatched to the site. They were able to confirm that it was indeed the missing aircraft.
On 15 October 1948, a casket was placed in the Grave 43, Section F, Golden Gate National Cemetery. Supposedly it contained the bodies of the four flyers lost with 41-21079. However, it was clearly stated in the after action report of the search party that no bodies had been found. Only one small piece of frozen flesh that became the group burial.
By 2005, the glacier had melted sufficiently to reveal the body of Mustomen. In 2006, the body of Munn was recovered. It was at this time that the Department of Defense announced that the other two bodies were in the casket and the case was closed. But the remaining two bodies are probably still on the glacier. Only time will tell.
Sources:
AAIR
San Cruz Sentinel 12 September 1948
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Aug-2014 14:23 | A.J.Scholten | Updated [Cn, Total fatalities, Location, Narrative] |
| 18-Nov-2015 16:34 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Nov-2020 19:18 | TB | Updated [Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Source] |
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