Bakers Creek Air Crash Commemoration Ceremony
71st ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY SALUTES WW II PLANE CRASH VICTIMS
Selfridge Gate to Arlington National Cemetery
Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
June 13, 2014
9:00 am
COL Fern O. Sumpter, Garrison Commander, and
CSM Lavender will place a wreath at the
Bakers Creek Air Crash monument, followed by Taps.
Join
family relatives and friends of the 40 American servicemen killed in
World War II’s worse aviation disaster in the Southwest Pacific. We
will be honored by the presence of Air Commodore Gary Martin, Air
Attaché from the Embassy of Australia, Bill Lloyd, President of 317th
Veterans Group, and Col Benson, Mackay RSL Historian from Australia.
A reception, sponsored by Definition Media Ltd (UK), will follow the ceremony.
Allow extra time for the security checks when arriving at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
The event marks the 71st
Anniversary Commemoration of a tragic wartime accident where 40 members
of the U.S. Army Air Corps perished at Bakers Creek, near Mackay,
Australia, in 1943.
Officially forgotten for 57 years, family members are seeking closure for remember loved ones.
Secretary
of the Army, John McHugh, has directed the Ft. Myer Garrison to conduct
appropriate annual ceremonies on the anniversary date of the crash.
The
event will bring together from across the United States, family
relatives of the casualties, retired military leaders and WW II veterans
of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
Casualty families are from 23 states across the United States, six are from Pennsylvania. The
servicemen were being returned from R&R leave in Australia to the
jungle battle fields in New Guinea during the decisive Papua Campaign of
1943. The airplane crashed shortly after takeoff. The memorial marker
is carved from Queensland pink granite donated by citizens of Queensland
and the government of Australia.
Although the
accident was the deadliest plane crash in the Southwest Pacific theatre
during the war – and remains Australia’s worst air disaster – it was
unreported in the United States because of wartime censorship
restrictions on disclosing American troop movements.
Retired
professor Robert S. Cutler of George Washington University, whose late
father supervised the loading of the passengers on that fateful flight,
wrote in his book, Mackay’s Flying Fortress (CQU Press) that the incident originally was deemed a “military secret” to prevent wartime disclosure.
“In recent years, however,” Cutler said, “thanks to the tireless work
of people in Australia and in the United States, the full magnitude of
the disaster was uncovered and now there is a wide national recognition
of this historic event.”
The members of the
Association believe these fallen servicemen deserve to be remembered at
this time. “Our group of military veterans and casualty families will
have its final measure of closure,” says Cutler, “as we honor the
families of these forgotten heroes of World War II – for the loved
ones they either loved and lost, or never had the chance to know...”
Last month, two developments associated with documenting the “Bakers Creek Air Crash Story” happened:
1. Definition
Media Ltd, a British television company, completed filming in the US
and in Australia for its forthcoming television documentary about the largely-unknown Flying Fortress crash at Bakers
Creek in Australia. The program is expected to air in Australia, UK, and
US, this autumn.
http://www.oocities.org/valiant1968/MissEMF/BCK-Memorial-pix/BCK-Memorial-pictures.htm
 |
| Bakers Creek Memorial, Queensland Australia |
Comments
Post a Comment