Capt. Bud Mease is no longer an MIA from World War II. Born to Dr. J.H. Mease and Hester Smathers Mease on September 19, 1906 in Canton, North Carolina, he was born to fly. Described by his wife, Ellen Frances Page as a "barnstormer" pilot, he participated in air shows, worked as a flight instructor and flew for several companies in the Southeast until WWII when he joined the Army Air Corps.
Trained in multi-engine aircraft, he deployed with the 77th Squadron, 22nd Ferry Group to the China, Burma, India Theater flying a C-87 (Cargo version of a B-24). As a "Hump" pilot, he flew numerous critical missions over the Himalayan mountains to re-supply Chinese and American Forces. On 24 April 1943, on a mission from Yangkai, China to Chabua, India, Capt. Mease's plane with his crew of four was lost. Attempts to locate the plane during and immediately after the war were unsuccessful. In October, 2003, an American citizen, Clayton Kuhles from Prescott, AZ discovered the wreckage of Capt. Mease's C-87 while trekking in the mountains. He gathered remains and provided them to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in HI for processing.
Capt. Mease is survived by his son, Col. (ret.) Jennings H. (Bud) Mease, Jr. of Sandy UT, eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. A graveside burial service with military honors will be held at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 275 "U" St., Salt Lake City, at 2:00pm, Friday, 30 September, 2011.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune from September 28 to September 29, 2011.
Trained in multi-engine aircraft, he deployed with the 77th Squadron, 22nd Ferry Group to the China, Burma, India Theater flying a C-87 (Cargo version of a B-24). As a "Hump" pilot, he flew numerous critical missions over the Himalayan mountains to re-supply Chinese and American Forces. On 24 April 1943, on a mission from Yangkai, China to Chabua, India, Capt. Mease's plane with his crew of four was lost. Attempts to locate the plane during and immediately after the war were unsuccessful. In October, 2003, an American citizen, Clayton Kuhles from Prescott, AZ discovered the wreckage of Capt. Mease's C-87 while trekking in the mountains. He gathered remains and provided them to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in HI for processing.
Capt. Mease is survived by his son, Col. (ret.) Jennings H. (Bud) Mease, Jr. of Sandy UT, eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. A graveside burial service with military honors will be held at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 275 "U" St., Salt Lake City, at 2:00pm, Friday, 30 September, 2011.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune from September 28 to September 29, 2011.
Capt. Bud Mease is no longer an MIA from World War II. Born to Dr. J.H. Mease and Hester Smathers Mease on September 19, 1906 in Canton, North Carolina, he was born to fly. Described by his wife, Ellen Frances Page as a "barnstormer" pilot, he participated in air shows, worked as a flight instructor and flew for several companies in the Southeast until WWII when he joined the Army Air Corps.
Trained in multi-engine aircraft, he deployed with the 77th Squadron, 22nd Ferry Group to the China, Burma, India Theater flying a C-87 (Cargo version of a B-24). As a "Hump" pilot, he flew numerous critical missions over the Himalayan mountains to re-supply Chinese and American Forces. On 24 April 1943, on a mission from Yangkai, China to Chabua, India, Capt. Mease's plane with his crew of four was lost. Attempts to locate the plane during and immediately after the war were unsuccessful. In October, 2003, an American citizen, Clayton Kuhles from Prescott, AZ discovered the wreckage of Capt. Mease's C-87 while trekking in the mountains. He gathered remains and provided them to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in HI for processing.
Capt. Mease is survived by his son, Col. (ret.) Jennings H. (Bud) Mease, Jr. of Sandy UT, eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. A graveside burial service with military honors will be held at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 275 "U" St., Salt Lake City, at 2:00pm, Friday, 30 September, 2011.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune from September 28 to September 29, 2011.
Trained in multi-engine aircraft, he deployed with the 77th Squadron, 22nd Ferry Group to the China, Burma, India Theater flying a C-87 (Cargo version of a B-24). As a "Hump" pilot, he flew numerous critical missions over the Himalayan mountains to re-supply Chinese and American Forces. On 24 April 1943, on a mission from Yangkai, China to Chabua, India, Capt. Mease's plane with his crew of four was lost. Attempts to locate the plane during and immediately after the war were unsuccessful. In October, 2003, an American citizen, Clayton Kuhles from Prescott, AZ discovered the wreckage of Capt. Mease's C-87 while trekking in the mountains. He gathered remains and provided them to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in HI for processing.
Capt. Mease is survived by his son, Col. (ret.) Jennings H. (Bud) Mease, Jr. of Sandy UT, eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. A graveside burial service with military honors will be held at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 275 "U" St., Salt Lake City, at 2:00pm, Friday, 30 September, 2011.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune from September 28 to September 29, 2011.
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