Captain, India-China Air Transport Command.
C-87-CF Liberator Express #43-30597 lost control and crashed in the Himalayas in China,
east of the border with Bhutan, during World War II.
Last reported position was 28° 47'N 96° 50'E. The precise location of the wreck site is unknown. The flight was from Jorhat, India, to Kunming, China. Missing Air Crew Report № 4736.
Killed in service were:
Capt. Philip R Burling, O-404088, IL, Pilot
1st Lt. Robert S Carson, O-794466, FL, Co-Pilot
Cpl. Fred J Schofield, 33285630, PA, Radio Operator
Pvt. Melvin R Lautzenhiser, 14139534, GA, Crew Chief
~
Philip R. Burling to Be Reinterred
Capt. Philip R. Burling of Oak Park, late of the India-China wing of the Air Transport command, will be buried on Wednesday, November 2, in the Zachary Taylor National cemetery, Louisville, Ky. Captain Burling met his death on April 28, 1944, while piloting a C- 87 type of cargo plane over the "hump" of the Himalayas. The aircraft departed from Jorhat, India, on a cargo mission to Kunming, China.
During the flight the plane radioed that the crew was bailing out, but no reason for this action was given. The next day a fescue plane flew over the same course and located the still burning wreckage of the ship. Emergency packs were dropped and an air net warning party set out on foot, but when the cargo ship was reached it was found that the bodies of Capt. Burling and the crew were in the plane. The men were apparently trapped by shifting cargo when the plane started to fall, and they were unable to bail out.
Capt. Burling and the members of his crew were first buried in the American Military cemetery in Barrackpore, India. On November 2 all of the men will be buried in a national cemetery in Louisville in a joint military ceremony. This particular cemetery was selected in order that no undue burden of travel might be placed on any relatives attending the group burial service.
Capt. Burling attended Oak Park high school, where he was president of the Monogram club, captain of the 1932-33 football team, and winner of the local fieldhouse record for the 50-yard dash. Thereafter he studied at Denison university, the University of Illinois, Northwestern university and the Northwestern University Dental school. His fraternities were Phi Delta Theta.and Xi Psi Phi. While in college, Captain Burling won over 40 medals at the Drake relays and at other athletic contests in the following events: 100-yard run, 440-yard run, 880-yard run, half-mile relay, 4/9ths mile relay, and 8/9ths mile relay.
In June, 1940, he was graduated from the Northwestern University Dental school, where he had been president of his junior class. A week after his graduation he enlisted in the army air forces. Upon receiving his commission he had the unique distinction of being the only lieutenant in the air corps who was also a dentist. Before volunteering for service in China, he served in Puerto Rico, British Guiana, Brazil, North Africa and Arabia.
At the time of his death, Capt. Burling had made more than 60 flights over the dangerous terrain from India to China. He also practiced dentistry, after arriving in India. Complete dental equipment was forwarded to him by the government. Immediately after completing a hazardous flight, he was accustomed to care for his "patients" waiting for him outside his thatched hut. His dental equipment included a drill which was powered manually by a native boy. He wrote daily letters to his family and sent home many kodak pictures and articles of interest. A few weeks before his death he visited Tibet and photographed some of the natives there. His last letter was dated April 27, 1944, and written an hour before he left on his last flight.
Capt. Burling received the Air Medal and a Presidential citation. While in the States he also was award s the caterpillar pin for having successfully bailed out at Moody field when his ship went into an inverted spin. The plane he was piloting at the time of his death weighed 30 tons. It was filled with vital war material for the Chinese army.
A letter received from him just before his death stated: "We're making the run into China day and night now. The weather has cleared up, and I've seen the ground a couple of times recently. It is rough-looking stuff; it must be the roughest terrain in the world. During the last rainy season I flew by instruments all of the way, except for perhaps 15 minutes of contact flight at each end. At present I am in a tea patch 15,000 miles out of Miami. We live in thatched huts and boil and steam in the hot atmosphere, wondering what is coming up next and what the Nips are planning."
Capt. Burling was married to Miss Josephine Knox, daughter of Mrs. James S. Knox of 321 Wesley and the late Mr. Knox. He is survived by his widow and his father, Frank Burling, of San Jose, Calif. His mother passed away in 1939 while on a trip to England. He was the second casualty of the war from the Northwestern University Dental school.
—Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL), 27 Oct 1949, pg. 56
C-87-CF Liberator Express #43-30597 lost control and crashed in the Himalayas in China,
east of the border with Bhutan, during World War II.
Last reported position was 28° 47'N 96° 50'E. The precise location of the wreck site is unknown. The flight was from Jorhat, India, to Kunming, China. Missing Air Crew Report № 4736.
Killed in service were:
Capt. Philip R Burling, O-404088, IL, Pilot
1st Lt. Robert S Carson, O-794466, FL, Co-Pilot
Cpl. Fred J Schofield, 33285630, PA, Radio Operator
Pvt. Melvin R Lautzenhiser, 14139534, GA, Crew Chief
~
Philip R. Burling to Be Reinterred
Capt. Philip R. Burling of Oak Park, late of the India-China wing of the Air Transport command, will be buried on Wednesday, November 2, in the Zachary Taylor National cemetery, Louisville, Ky. Captain Burling met his death on April 28, 1944, while piloting a C- 87 type of cargo plane over the "hump" of the Himalayas. The aircraft departed from Jorhat, India, on a cargo mission to Kunming, China.
During the flight the plane radioed that the crew was bailing out, but no reason for this action was given. The next day a fescue plane flew over the same course and located the still burning wreckage of the ship. Emergency packs were dropped and an air net warning party set out on foot, but when the cargo ship was reached it was found that the bodies of Capt. Burling and the crew were in the plane. The men were apparently trapped by shifting cargo when the plane started to fall, and they were unable to bail out.
Capt. Burling and the members of his crew were first buried in the American Military cemetery in Barrackpore, India. On November 2 all of the men will be buried in a national cemetery in Louisville in a joint military ceremony. This particular cemetery was selected in order that no undue burden of travel might be placed on any relatives attending the group burial service.
Capt. Burling attended Oak Park high school, where he was president of the Monogram club, captain of the 1932-33 football team, and winner of the local fieldhouse record for the 50-yard dash. Thereafter he studied at Denison university, the University of Illinois, Northwestern university and the Northwestern University Dental school. His fraternities were Phi Delta Theta.and Xi Psi Phi. While in college, Captain Burling won over 40 medals at the Drake relays and at other athletic contests in the following events: 100-yard run, 440-yard run, 880-yard run, half-mile relay, 4/9ths mile relay, and 8/9ths mile relay.
In June, 1940, he was graduated from the Northwestern University Dental school, where he had been president of his junior class. A week after his graduation he enlisted in the army air forces. Upon receiving his commission he had the unique distinction of being the only lieutenant in the air corps who was also a dentist. Before volunteering for service in China, he served in Puerto Rico, British Guiana, Brazil, North Africa and Arabia.
At the time of his death, Capt. Burling had made more than 60 flights over the dangerous terrain from India to China. He also practiced dentistry, after arriving in India. Complete dental equipment was forwarded to him by the government. Immediately after completing a hazardous flight, he was accustomed to care for his "patients" waiting for him outside his thatched hut. His dental equipment included a drill which was powered manually by a native boy. He wrote daily letters to his family and sent home many kodak pictures and articles of interest. A few weeks before his death he visited Tibet and photographed some of the natives there. His last letter was dated April 27, 1944, and written an hour before he left on his last flight.
Capt. Burling received the Air Medal and a Presidential citation. While in the States he also was award s the caterpillar pin for having successfully bailed out at Moody field when his ship went into an inverted spin. The plane he was piloting at the time of his death weighed 30 tons. It was filled with vital war material for the Chinese army.
A letter received from him just before his death stated: "We're making the run into China day and night now. The weather has cleared up, and I've seen the ground a couple of times recently. It is rough-looking stuff; it must be the roughest terrain in the world. During the last rainy season I flew by instruments all of the way, except for perhaps 15 minutes of contact flight at each end. At present I am in a tea patch 15,000 miles out of Miami. We live in thatched huts and boil and steam in the hot atmosphere, wondering what is coming up next and what the Nips are planning."
Capt. Burling was married to Miss Josephine Knox, daughter of Mrs. James S. Knox of 321 Wesley and the late Mr. Knox. He is survived by his widow and his father, Frank Burling, of San Jose, Calif. His mother passed away in 1939 while on a trip to England. He was the second casualty of the war from the Northwestern University Dental school.
—Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL), 27 Oct 1949, pg. 56
Captain, India-China Air Transport Command.
C-87-CF Liberator Express #43-30597 lost control and crashed in the Himalayas in China,
east of the border with Bhutan, during World War II.
Last reported position was 28° 47'N 96° 50'E. The precise location of the wreck site is unknown. The flight was from Jorhat, India, to Kunming, China. Missing Air Crew Report № 4736.
Killed in service were:
Capt. Philip R Burling, O-404088, IL, Pilot
1st Lt. Robert S Carson, O-794466, FL, Co-Pilot
Cpl. Fred J Schofield, 33285630, PA, Radio Operator
Pvt. Melvin R Lautzenhiser, 14139534, GA, Crew Chief
~
Philip R. Burling to Be Reinterred
Capt. Philip R. Burling of Oak Park, late of the India-China wing of the Air Transport command, will be buried on Wednesday, November 2, in the Zachary Taylor National cemetery, Louisville, Ky. Captain Burling met his death on April 28, 1944, while piloting a C- 87 type of cargo plane over the "hump" of the Himalayas. The aircraft departed from Jorhat, India, on a cargo mission to Kunming, China.
During the flight the plane radioed that the crew was bailing out, but no reason for this action was given. The next day a fescue plane flew over the same course and located the still burning wreckage of the ship. Emergency packs were dropped and an air net warning party set out on foot, but when the cargo ship was reached it was found that the bodies of Capt. Burling and the crew were in the plane. The men were apparently trapped by shifting cargo when the plane started to fall, and they were unable to bail out.
Capt. Burling and the members of his crew were first buried in the American Military cemetery in Barrackpore, India. On November 2 all of the men will be buried in a national cemetery in Louisville in a joint military ceremony. This particular cemetery was selected in order that no undue burden of travel might be placed on any relatives attending the group burial service.
Capt. Burling attended Oak Park high school, where he was president of the Monogram club, captain of the 1932-33 football team, and winner of the local fieldhouse record for the 50-yard dash. Thereafter he studied at Denison university, the University of Illinois, Northwestern university and the Northwestern University Dental school. His fraternities were Phi Delta Theta.and Xi Psi Phi. While in college, Captain Burling won over 40 medals at the Drake relays and at other athletic contests in the following events: 100-yard run, 440-yard run, 880-yard run, half-mile relay, 4/9ths mile relay, and 8/9ths mile relay.
In June, 1940, he was graduated from the Northwestern University Dental school, where he had been president of his junior class. A week after his graduation he enlisted in the army air forces. Upon receiving his commission he had the unique distinction of being the only lieutenant in the air corps who was also a dentist. Before volunteering for service in China, he served in Puerto Rico, British Guiana, Brazil, North Africa and Arabia.
At the time of his death, Capt. Burling had made more than 60 flights over the dangerous terrain from India to China. He also practiced dentistry, after arriving in India. Complete dental equipment was forwarded to him by the government. Immediately after completing a hazardous flight, he was accustomed to care for his "patients" waiting for him outside his thatched hut. His dental equipment included a drill which was powered manually by a native boy. He wrote daily letters to his family and sent home many kodak pictures and articles of interest. A few weeks before his death he visited Tibet and photographed some of the natives there. His last letter was dated April 27, 1944, and written an hour before he left on his last flight.
Capt. Burling received the Air Medal and a Presidential citation. While in the States he also was award s the caterpillar pin for having successfully bailed out at Moody field when his ship went into an inverted spin. The plane he was piloting at the time of his death weighed 30 tons. It was filled with vital war material for the Chinese army.
A letter received from him just before his death stated: "We're making the run into China day and night now. The weather has cleared up, and I've seen the ground a couple of times recently. It is rough-looking stuff; it must be the roughest terrain in the world. During the last rainy season I flew by instruments all of the way, except for perhaps 15 minutes of contact flight at each end. At present I am in a tea patch 15,000 miles out of Miami. We live in thatched huts and boil and steam in the hot atmosphere, wondering what is coming up next and what the Nips are planning."
Capt. Burling was married to Miss Josephine Knox, daughter of Mrs. James S. Knox of 321 Wesley and the late Mr. Knox. He is survived by his widow and his father, Frank Burling, of San Jose, Calif. His mother passed away in 1939 while on a trip to England. He was the second casualty of the war from the Northwestern University Dental school.
—Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL), 27 Oct 1949, pg. 56
C-87-CF Liberator Express #43-30597 lost control and crashed in the Himalayas in China,
east of the border with Bhutan, during World War II.
Last reported position was 28° 47'N 96° 50'E. The precise location of the wreck site is unknown. The flight was from Jorhat, India, to Kunming, China. Missing Air Crew Report № 4736.
Killed in service were:
Capt. Philip R Burling, O-404088, IL, Pilot
1st Lt. Robert S Carson, O-794466, FL, Co-Pilot
Cpl. Fred J Schofield, 33285630, PA, Radio Operator
Pvt. Melvin R Lautzenhiser, 14139534, GA, Crew Chief
~
Philip R. Burling to Be Reinterred
Capt. Philip R. Burling of Oak Park, late of the India-China wing of the Air Transport command, will be buried on Wednesday, November 2, in the Zachary Taylor National cemetery, Louisville, Ky. Captain Burling met his death on April 28, 1944, while piloting a C- 87 type of cargo plane over the "hump" of the Himalayas. The aircraft departed from Jorhat, India, on a cargo mission to Kunming, China.
During the flight the plane radioed that the crew was bailing out, but no reason for this action was given. The next day a fescue plane flew over the same course and located the still burning wreckage of the ship. Emergency packs were dropped and an air net warning party set out on foot, but when the cargo ship was reached it was found that the bodies of Capt. Burling and the crew were in the plane. The men were apparently trapped by shifting cargo when the plane started to fall, and they were unable to bail out.
Capt. Burling and the members of his crew were first buried in the American Military cemetery in Barrackpore, India. On November 2 all of the men will be buried in a national cemetery in Louisville in a joint military ceremony. This particular cemetery was selected in order that no undue burden of travel might be placed on any relatives attending the group burial service.
Capt. Burling attended Oak Park high school, where he was president of the Monogram club, captain of the 1932-33 football team, and winner of the local fieldhouse record for the 50-yard dash. Thereafter he studied at Denison university, the University of Illinois, Northwestern university and the Northwestern University Dental school. His fraternities were Phi Delta Theta.and Xi Psi Phi. While in college, Captain Burling won over 40 medals at the Drake relays and at other athletic contests in the following events: 100-yard run, 440-yard run, 880-yard run, half-mile relay, 4/9ths mile relay, and 8/9ths mile relay.
In June, 1940, he was graduated from the Northwestern University Dental school, where he had been president of his junior class. A week after his graduation he enlisted in the army air forces. Upon receiving his commission he had the unique distinction of being the only lieutenant in the air corps who was also a dentist. Before volunteering for service in China, he served in Puerto Rico, British Guiana, Brazil, North Africa and Arabia.
At the time of his death, Capt. Burling had made more than 60 flights over the dangerous terrain from India to China. He also practiced dentistry, after arriving in India. Complete dental equipment was forwarded to him by the government. Immediately after completing a hazardous flight, he was accustomed to care for his "patients" waiting for him outside his thatched hut. His dental equipment included a drill which was powered manually by a native boy. He wrote daily letters to his family and sent home many kodak pictures and articles of interest. A few weeks before his death he visited Tibet and photographed some of the natives there. His last letter was dated April 27, 1944, and written an hour before he left on his last flight.
Capt. Burling received the Air Medal and a Presidential citation. While in the States he also was award s the caterpillar pin for having successfully bailed out at Moody field when his ship went into an inverted spin. The plane he was piloting at the time of his death weighed 30 tons. It was filled with vital war material for the Chinese army.
A letter received from him just before his death stated: "We're making the run into China day and night now. The weather has cleared up, and I've seen the ground a couple of times recently. It is rough-looking stuff; it must be the roughest terrain in the world. During the last rainy season I flew by instruments all of the way, except for perhaps 15 minutes of contact flight at each end. At present I am in a tea patch 15,000 miles out of Miami. We live in thatched huts and boil and steam in the hot atmosphere, wondering what is coming up next and what the Nips are planning."
Capt. Burling was married to Miss Josephine Knox, daughter of Mrs. James S. Knox of 321 Wesley and the late Mr. Knox. He is survived by his widow and his father, Frank Burling, of San Jose, Calif. His mother passed away in 1939 while on a trip to England. He was the second casualty of the war from the Northwestern University Dental school.
—Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL), 27 Oct 1949, pg. 56
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CAPT, US ARMY AIR FORCES WORLD WAR II
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