Melvin's remains were recovered in 1959 and he was interred in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, Missouri.
" Click Here " for that record.
A "Rosette" was placed in front of his name here at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Son of Mrs. Ebba S. Mollberg who resided in Baudette, Minnesota.
Melvin served as a Private First Class & Assistant Engineer on C-47A #41-23952, Headquarters Squadron, Far East Air Service Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Lake Of Woods County, Minnesota prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on December 2, 1941, prior to the war, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, without dependents.
C-47A #41-23952 was normally assigned to the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, U.S. Army Air Force but was used on this flight.
C-47A #41-23952 took off with a crew of 5 and 19 passengers from Sentani Air Field (APO #323), Papua New Guinea on what was noted by the military as a "Navigational Training Flight" but was later noted as basically as a "sightseeing" flight over the Hidden Valley, Papua New Guinea. They crashed for an unknown reason into the side of a mountain during the war.
The entire crew of 5, along with 14 passengers, were killed at the time of the crash. There were 5 who survived the initial crash to include: 1st Lt. John S. McCollom ( twin brother of Robert below ), T/Sgt. Kenneth W. Decker, Cpl. Margaret J. Hastings, Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna, and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley.
The next day Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley died of their wounds. The remaining three were finally rescued 47 days later.
Melvin was first declared "Missing In Action" in this crash. His status was changed to "Killed In Action" after his remains were recovered.
He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Service # 17035891
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Crew who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Mollberg, Melvin A ~ Pfc, Asst. Engineer, MN
Newcomer, George R ~ Pfc, Radio Operator, SC
Nicholson, George H ~ Maj, Co-Pilot, MA
Norris, Hilliard ~ S/Sgt, Engineer, NC
Prossen, Peter J ~ Col, Pilot, TX
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Passengers who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Antonini, Herman F ~ Maj, IL
Besley, Laura E ~ S/Sgt, PA
Dattilo, Phillip J ~ Maj, KY
Fair, Alethia M ~ Pfc, CA
Freyman, Louis E ~ Capt, IN
Gillis, Marian C ~ Pfc, CA
Good, Herbert F ~ Capt, OH
Hanna, Eleanor P ~ Pfc, PA
Holding, Lawrence F ~ 1st Lt, NC
Kent, Helen G ~ Sgt, CA
Landau, Mary M ~ Pfc, NY
McCollom, Robert E ~ 1st Lt, MO
McMonagle, Marion W ~ Tech/3, PA
Miller, Charles R ~ Corp, MI
Naimer, Belle G ~ Sgt, MA
Weber, Melvyn A ~ Corp, CA
( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Click Here " for that record.
A "Rosette" was placed in front of his name here at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Son of Mrs. Ebba S. Mollberg who resided in Baudette, Minnesota.
Melvin served as a Private First Class & Assistant Engineer on C-47A #41-23952, Headquarters Squadron, Far East Air Service Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Lake Of Woods County, Minnesota prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on December 2, 1941, prior to the war, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, without dependents.
C-47A #41-23952 was normally assigned to the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, U.S. Army Air Force but was used on this flight.
C-47A #41-23952 took off with a crew of 5 and 19 passengers from Sentani Air Field (APO #323), Papua New Guinea on what was noted by the military as a "Navigational Training Flight" but was later noted as basically as a "sightseeing" flight over the Hidden Valley, Papua New Guinea. They crashed for an unknown reason into the side of a mountain during the war.
The entire crew of 5, along with 14 passengers, were killed at the time of the crash. There were 5 who survived the initial crash to include: 1st Lt. John S. McCollom ( twin brother of Robert below ), T/Sgt. Kenneth W. Decker, Cpl. Margaret J. Hastings, Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna, and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley.
The next day Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley died of their wounds. The remaining three were finally rescued 47 days later.
Melvin was first declared "Missing In Action" in this crash. His status was changed to "Killed In Action" after his remains were recovered.
He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Service # 17035891
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Crew who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Mollberg, Melvin A ~ Pfc, Asst. Engineer, MN
Newcomer, George R ~ Pfc, Radio Operator, SC
Nicholson, George H ~ Maj, Co-Pilot, MA
Norris, Hilliard ~ S/Sgt, Engineer, NC
Prossen, Peter J ~ Col, Pilot, TX
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Passengers who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Antonini, Herman F ~ Maj, IL
Besley, Laura E ~ S/Sgt, PA
Dattilo, Phillip J ~ Maj, KY
Fair, Alethia M ~ Pfc, CA
Freyman, Louis E ~ Capt, IN
Gillis, Marian C ~ Pfc, CA
Good, Herbert F ~ Capt, OH
Hanna, Eleanor P ~ Pfc, PA
Holding, Lawrence F ~ 1st Lt, NC
Kent, Helen G ~ Sgt, CA
Landau, Mary M ~ Pfc, NY
McCollom, Robert E ~ 1st Lt, MO
McMonagle, Marion W ~ Tech/3, PA
Miller, Charles R ~ Corp, MI
Naimer, Belle G ~ Sgt, MA
Weber, Melvyn A ~ Corp, CA
( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melvin's remains were recovered in 1959 and he was interred in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, Missouri.
" Click Here " for that record.
A "Rosette" was placed in front of his name here at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Son of Mrs. Ebba S. Mollberg who resided in Baudette, Minnesota.
Melvin served as a Private First Class & Assistant Engineer on C-47A #41-23952, Headquarters Squadron, Far East Air Service Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Lake Of Woods County, Minnesota prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on December 2, 1941, prior to the war, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, without dependents.
C-47A #41-23952 was normally assigned to the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, U.S. Army Air Force but was used on this flight.
C-47A #41-23952 took off with a crew of 5 and 19 passengers from Sentani Air Field (APO #323), Papua New Guinea on what was noted by the military as a "Navigational Training Flight" but was later noted as basically as a "sightseeing" flight over the Hidden Valley, Papua New Guinea. They crashed for an unknown reason into the side of a mountain during the war.
The entire crew of 5, along with 14 passengers, were killed at the time of the crash. There were 5 who survived the initial crash to include: 1st Lt. John S. McCollom ( twin brother of Robert below ), T/Sgt. Kenneth W. Decker, Cpl. Margaret J. Hastings, Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna, and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley.
The next day Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley died of their wounds. The remaining three were finally rescued 47 days later.
Melvin was first declared "Missing In Action" in this crash. His status was changed to "Killed In Action" after his remains were recovered.
He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Service # 17035891
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Crew who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Mollberg, Melvin A ~ Pfc, Asst. Engineer, MN
Newcomer, George R ~ Pfc, Radio Operator, SC
Nicholson, George H ~ Maj, Co-Pilot, MA
Norris, Hilliard ~ S/Sgt, Engineer, NC
Prossen, Peter J ~ Col, Pilot, TX
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Passengers who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Antonini, Herman F ~ Maj, IL
Besley, Laura E ~ S/Sgt, PA
Dattilo, Phillip J ~ Maj, KY
Fair, Alethia M ~ Pfc, CA
Freyman, Louis E ~ Capt, IN
Gillis, Marian C ~ Pfc, CA
Good, Herbert F ~ Capt, OH
Hanna, Eleanor P ~ Pfc, PA
Holding, Lawrence F ~ 1st Lt, NC
Kent, Helen G ~ Sgt, CA
Landau, Mary M ~ Pfc, NY
McCollom, Robert E ~ 1st Lt, MO
McMonagle, Marion W ~ Tech/3, PA
Miller, Charles R ~ Corp, MI
Naimer, Belle G ~ Sgt, MA
Weber, Melvyn A ~ Corp, CA
( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Click Here " for that record.
A "Rosette" was placed in front of his name here at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Son of Mrs. Ebba S. Mollberg who resided in Baudette, Minnesota.
Melvin served as a Private First Class & Assistant Engineer on C-47A #41-23952, Headquarters Squadron, Far East Air Service Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Lake Of Woods County, Minnesota prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on December 2, 1941, prior to the war, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, without dependents.
C-47A #41-23952 was normally assigned to the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, U.S. Army Air Force but was used on this flight.
C-47A #41-23952 took off with a crew of 5 and 19 passengers from Sentani Air Field (APO #323), Papua New Guinea on what was noted by the military as a "Navigational Training Flight" but was later noted as basically as a "sightseeing" flight over the Hidden Valley, Papua New Guinea. They crashed for an unknown reason into the side of a mountain during the war.
The entire crew of 5, along with 14 passengers, were killed at the time of the crash. There were 5 who survived the initial crash to include: 1st Lt. John S. McCollom ( twin brother of Robert below ), T/Sgt. Kenneth W. Decker, Cpl. Margaret J. Hastings, Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna, and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley.
The next day Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna and S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley died of their wounds. The remaining three were finally rescued 47 days later.
Melvin was first declared "Missing In Action" in this crash. His status was changed to "Killed In Action" after his remains were recovered.
He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Service # 17035891
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Crew who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Mollberg, Melvin A ~ Pfc, Asst. Engineer, MN
Newcomer, George R ~ Pfc, Radio Operator, SC
Nicholson, George H ~ Maj, Co-Pilot, MA
Norris, Hilliard ~ S/Sgt, Engineer, NC
Prossen, Peter J ~ Col, Pilot, TX
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Passengers who perished on C-47A #41-23952:
Antonini, Herman F ~ Maj, IL
Besley, Laura E ~ S/Sgt, PA
Dattilo, Phillip J ~ Maj, KY
Fair, Alethia M ~ Pfc, CA
Freyman, Louis E ~ Capt, IN
Gillis, Marian C ~ Pfc, CA
Good, Herbert F ~ Capt, OH
Hanna, Eleanor P ~ Pfc, PA
Holding, Lawrence F ~ 1st Lt, NC
Kent, Helen G ~ Sgt, CA
Landau, Mary M ~ Pfc, NY
McCollom, Robert E ~ 1st Lt, MO
McMonagle, Marion W ~ Tech/3, PA
Miller, Charles R ~ Corp, MI
Naimer, Belle G ~ Sgt, MA
Weber, Melvyn A ~ Corp, CA
( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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