| Birth: | unknown | | Death: | Mar. 16, 1962 | 
Flight 739 was a Super Constellation propliner aircraft operated by the Flying Tiger Line. It had been chartered by the United States military to transport 93 United States Army personnel and 3 South Vietnamese from Travis Air Force Base, California to South Vietnam. It had a crew of 11.
After refueling on Guam, the plane was en route to Clark Air Base in the Philippines when it disappeared on March 16, 1962 over the Western Pacific Ocean. All 107 aboard were declared missing and presumed dead.
No trace of wreckage or debris of Flight 739 was ever recovered.
Based on the report by a civilian tanker which stated that it observed what appeared to be an explosion in the sky in the vicinity where the aircraft would have been, it was concluded that Flight 739 exploded in-flight.
I have a somewhat personal connection to Flight 739. On March 15, 1962, when I was 13 years old, my family and I were waiting to fly out of Guam back to the States to visit my dying grandfather. At the terminal, while we were waiting to board our flight, Flight 739 landed and taxied up and stopped directly behind our plane.
I remember the soldiers disembarking from their plane and entering the terminal. They were so glad to be off the plane after a long flight and able to stretch their legs. Most were joking and laughing with each other.
One of the soldiers, an Asia-American, who I now believe was James Wong, bought me a coke.
After a little while, the soldiers watched us as we boarded our plane and took off on our flight to Hawaii. When we landed at Honolulu, my dad told us that Flight 739 had vanished a short while after it left Guam.
This made quite an impression on a 13 year old youngster. I learned that one minute you can be so alive and vibrant and the next minute you're gone.
To this day, I have never forgotten the soldiers of Flight 739 and can still see them coming into the terminal building on Guam, forever young and alive.
When I heard these lyrics from the song "Angels Came Down" I thought of the men and crew of Flight 739:
The angels came down to the fallen men
And they held their hands as they prayed for them
They carried their souls beyond the moon and the sun
All the way to heaven one by one.
United States military personnel who were on Flight 739:
Homer D. Adams, Ukon, West Virginia
James R. Armes, Virginia
Billy J. Atkins, North Carolina
Robert H. Baggett, North Carolina
Robert J. Bako, Elbridge, New York
Donald Aaron Barnes, Illinois
Thomas Wilson Baxley, Thomasville, Georgia
Richard S. Bayse, Prince George, Virginia
Henry Francis "Hank" Biernacki , Colorado
George W. Bliss, Fort Jay, New York
James Dale Bowen, Indianapolis, Indiana
Joseph F. Broome, Danville, Virginia
John Joseph Burns, Vermont
John H. Callahan, Pennsvanyia
Larry Dean Canon, Chino, California
William F. Caseldine, Missouri
Edward Donald P. Cox, Amarillo, Texas
Lucius D. Croft, South Carolina
Harold Lamonde Curry, Mangum, Oklahoma
Douglas P. Dickey, Louisiana
Ernest T. Dixon, Jesup, Georgia
James Allen Edwards, Hanceville, Alabama
Lawrence A. Fox, Canestoga, New York
Howard Roy Gallipeau, Jr., Washington
Clarence F. Gananca, Jr., New York
John L. Geiser, Granite, Maryland
Robert R. Glassman, San Jose, California
Walter Glynn, Tocoma, Washington
Roy Edward Greenleaf, New Mexico
Charles W. Griffith, Cincinnati, Ohio
Sidney Lee Grissom, Missouri
Douglas A. Haaf, New York
Melvin Lewis Hatt, Michigan
Donald W. Henderson, Mt. Auburn, Illinois
Robert N. Henderson, California
Lindsay K. Hester, Virginia
Timothy F. Hopkins, Spokane, Washington
Clinton M. Hoy, Arizona
Samuel L. Hunter, Claflin, Kansas
William Reeves Jarvis, Kentucky
John Charles "Corky" Jennings, Newell, West Virginia
James Woodrow Johnston, Tennessee
John H. H. Jones, Columbus, Georgia
John J. Jones, Ogden, Utah
John Kanisky, Holland
John Altman Karibo, Ohio
Guy Wicks Kinnison, Hawaii
Charles Edward Kissee, California
Jack E. Lattie, Grovetown, Georgia
Adam Sablan Leddy, Guam
Warren M. Lehmkuhl, Columbus, Georgia
Franklin D. McClure, Dallas, Georgia
Stanley W. McEntee, Detroit, Michigan
Steven Medwid, Alexandria, Virginia
Billy W. Mick, Arizona
Tom B. Morrison, Nebraska
Raymond E. Myers, Warren, Arizona
Nicholas Nichols, Jr., Seaside, California
Roger L. Oliver, Wisconsin
Jack C. Packard, Lodi, Wisconsin
Charles W. Pardonnet, Colorado
Frank E. Pelkey, Maine
Lawrence R. Perkins, Chicago, Illinois
James A. Powell, Ft. Worth, Texas
Walter A. Reinhardt, Hammond, Indiana
Hubert Lloyd Rice, Waynesville, Missouri
Delbert Leonard Riggins, Boise, Idaho
Edison L. Roberts, Tacoma, Washington
Eddie F. Robinson, Benton, Arkansas
Leslie J. Roderick, Jr., Missouri
Samuel Rogers, Jr., Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Leslie M. Saade/Salada, Erie, Pennsylvania
Edmond Saenz, California
George E. Sager, Bergton, Virginia
Donald A. Sargent, New Hampshire
Andrew Alexander Sheard, III, Pennsylvania
Efisio Simola, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
George M. Slocum, Westfield, New York
Elmer L. Smith, Missouri
James C. Sorenson, Washington
Fred W. Talbot, New York
James H. Taylor, Michigan
Peter Thamy, Vallejo, California
John A. Thomas, Ridgeway, Ohio
Clarence Earl Thompson, Big Spring, Texas
Jack E. Tranum, Augusta, Georgia
James Edward Twitty, Virginia
Wallace L. Walcott, Tocoma, Washington
Ross C. Walker, Pickens, South Carolina
Leonard J. Wedge, Maine
John Cabot Wendell, San Antonio, Texas
Albert Francis Williams, Jr., Washington
James Wong, Hawaii
Flight crew of Flight 739:
Grady R. Burt, Navigator, Baldwin Park, California
Robbie J. Gazzaway, 2nd Officer, Fillmore, California
William T. Kennedy, Navigator, Braintree, California
Clayton E. McClellan, Flight Engineer, San Mateo, California
Hildegarde Muller, Stewardess, California
George M. Nau, Flight Engineer, Pacoima, California
Christel Reiter, Stewardess, San Mateo, California
Gregory P. Thomas, Captain, Red Bank, New Jersey
Barbara Wamsley, Senior Flight Attendant, Santa Barbara, California
Patricia Wassum, Stewardess, California
Robert J. Wish, 1st Officer, Hidden Hills, California
| | | Burial:
Body lost at sea |
Created by: Dennis Deel
Record added: Nov 08, 2010
Find A Grave Memorial# 61316724 |
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Added by:
Dennis Deel
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