Mission Started
On Investigation
Of Plane Crash
HEADQUARTERS, ALASKAN
DEPARTMENT — Details of a
mission to recover the bodies of
19 persons presumed killed when
their C-47 Air Transport Com
mand plane crashed near tne
top of Mt. Brooks last month
were disclosed October 24th, at
Alaskan Department headquar
ters. The expedition is one of the
most difficult ever attempted in
Alaska.
The plane, which was flying on
instruments under icing condi
tions, crashed September 18th at
an altitude of 9,700 feet, near the
top of the peak between Eldridge
and Muldrow glaciers. Mt.
Brooks, one of the greater peaks
in the area of Mt. McKinley, is
located in a sector which has
never been accurately charted,
and so far as army authorities
can determine, no person has
ever climbed the mountain.
The really difficult mission,
that of actually climbing the
snow-covered mountain to the
wrecked plane, still lies ahead of
the party. An advance party
headed by Grant Pearson, a ran
ger of the McKinley Park Ser
vice and one of the few persons
ever to climb Mt. McKinley, high
est mountain in North America,
has made its way to the edge of
Muldrow Glacier and was order
ed not to proceed further pend
ing arrival of special equipment, I
without which ascent of the
mountain was considered ex
tremely dangerous.
Because of the hazardous na
ture of the expedition, the 44
members of the party were se
lected from especially-qualified
soldier volunteers from various
organizations. Capt. Americo R.
Peracca, Corps of Engineers, of
Crockett, Calif., 11th Air Force
land rescue expert, cancelled his
scheduled return to the States on
rotation to take charge of the ac
tual expedition. Major J. G. Hill
of Denver, Colo., was selected to
organize the mission.
After the wreckage of the plane
was located September 21, Col.
Ivan M. Palmer, air base com
mander here, flew Mr. Pearson
over the wreckage to determine
whether it was possible to reach
the wrecked plane. Colonel Pal
mer and Mr. Pearson reported
their findings at a conference
with Lt. Gen. Delos C. Emmons,
Alaskan Department command
er, Brig. G»en. Harry A. Johnson,
commander of the 11th Ait Force
Sevice Command, and other army
officials, and it was decided that
every effort short of risking
lives would be made to recover
the bodies and gain information
about1 the accident.
A base camp has been estab
lished at Wonder Lake, nearest
point on the McKinley Park road
to Mt. Brooks. Forward camps
have been set up at Cache Creek
and McGonagall Pass, near the
edge of Muldrow Glacier, to sup
port the party that will attempt
to climb to the scene of the
crash.
The base camp is receiving
supplies by truck from Mt. Mc
Kinley Park station, on the Alas
kan Railroad, and supplies are
going to the camp at Cache Creek
by tractor, and from there as far
as the terrain will permit, by
snow jeep and tractor. Some sup
plies have been free-dropped and
parachuted from a C-47 plane at
McGonagall Pass, and the party
that will attempt to climb Mt.
Brooks will be supplied from the
air. Radio communication be
tween the various camps of the
expedition has been established,
and contact between the base
camp at Wonder Lake and El
mendorf Field and Ladd Field is
maintained by radio.
An aerial mosaic is being pre
pared of the proposed route up
the mountain, but weather con
ditions, over the Alaska mountain
range have prevented completion
of aerial photographs of ap
proaches to the scene of the
crash.
Also among the technical ad
visers with the expedition is Mr.
James A. Ford, mountain climb
ing expert from the Office of the
Quartermaster General at Wash
ington, D. C. Mr. Ford arrived
here from Washington by air and
joined the party several days
ago.
Ascent of the mountain to the
wrecked plane, during which
members of the party will be
forced to travel above the tim
ber line over some of the terri
tory’s most rugged terrain is ex
pected to require some time, and
the mission will not be started
until the special equipment
reaches McGonagall Pass.
On board the plane when it
crashed were two pilots of
Northwest Airlines, one civilian
passenger, and 16 service men,
most of whom were en route to
the States for furloughs. The
plane was flying from Anchor
age to Fairbanks.
The following-named Alaskans
were among the volunteers se
lected to accompany the expedi
tion:
Pvt. John F. Morrison, Juneau,
Alaska.
Technician Fifth Grade John
M. Greany, Anchorage Alaska.
Technical Sgt. Richard D.
Nierstheimer, Anchorage, Alas
ka.
Sgt. Jack J. an Zanten, An
chorage, Alaska.
Technician Fifth Grade Jacob
! A. Stalker, Noatak, Alaska.
Pvt. Ivar Skarland, Fairbanks,
Alaska.
Sgt. Karl M. Ivanoff, Unala
kleet, Alaska.
Pvt. Andrew A. Wholecheese,
Galena, Alaska.
Pvt. Howard Wilson, Kenai,
Alaska.
Pvt. David J. Yatlin, Koyukuk,
| Alaska.
* Pvt. Stanley J. Huhndorf, Nu
lato, Alaska.
"staff Sgt. Richard C. Manuell,
Haines, Alaska.
Sgt. Mikal A. Hansen Ketchi
kan, Alaska.
Pfc. Tommy Goodwin, Kotze
bue, Alaska. .. ..
Pfc. Samuel Kakik, Nome,
Alaska.
Pvt. Joseph Britch, Anchorage,
Alaska.
PASSES THROUGH NOME
ON WAY TO TELLER
Miss Rutih Voimers, niece of
Mrs. Tom Peterson of the Teller
Commercial Co., passed through
Nome enroute to Teller, where
she will visit her aunt.
Placer Location Notices now on
sale at The Nome Nugget.
BAKER AND
CROSS STILL
IN TIE RACE
JUNEAU, Nov. 3.—(AP)—The
Territorial Canvassing Board to
day reported today that Elizabeth
(Bess) Cross, democratic nominee
for the House, and B. G. (Bake)
Baker, republican nominee for
the same seat, had tied in the re
cent election, with each receiving
482 votes.
Unless absentee votes are re
ported prior to November 12th,
a, ties vote will be reported to the
legislature, which is overwhelm
ingly democratic, and the suppo
sition will be settled along party
lines.
No such tie has heretofore been
reported in the Second Division.
CHICAGO GIRL
VISITS NOME
On a vacation from her du
ties with the U. S. Army Alaska
Department, Miss Josephine Pug
awek paid a visit to the office of
The Nome Nugget. Miss Pugawek
says her home is in Chicago, but
that she likes Alaska very much
and hopes to make the proper
connections so that she may
make her home in Nome. “The
Nome Nugget,” she says, “is one
of the finest small town newspa
pers I have ever seen.”
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