Lt. Mark Rainsford, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, died on July 28, 1943, at the age of 25 when American Airlines Flight 63 from Cleveland to Memphis, a DC-3, crashed and burned on a farm near Trammel Post Office, Allen County, Kentucky. Of the 22 people on board, 20 died, including all four crew members. The cause of the crash was loss of control due to severe turbulence and violent downdrafts. (Ironically, the plane that replaced this one on Flight 63 crashed three months later, killing all on board.) Lt. Rainsford's gravestone says, "He died in the line of duty." A native of New York City, he was the son of Laurence F. and Helen M. Rainsford, husband of Elizabeth Dodge, and grandson of the Rev. Dr. William S. Rainsford. He graduated from Trinity College in 1941 and married Elizabeth Dodge in July 1942 (New York Times). His death notice in The New York Times said he died "suddenly, while traveling on official business in the line of duty." Besides his wife, he was survived by a daughter, Gale Rainsford,
Lt. Mark Rainsford, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, died on July 28, 1943, at the age of 25 when American Airlines Flight 63 from Cleveland to Memphis, a DC-3, crashed and burned on a farm near Trammel Post Office, Allen County, Kentucky. Of the 22 people on board, 20 died, including all four crew members. The cause of the crash was loss of control due to severe turbulence and violent downdrafts. (Ironically, the plane that replaced this one on Flight 63 crashed three months later, killing all on board.) Lt. Rainsford's gravestone says, "He died in the line of duty." A native of New York City, he was the son of Laurence F. and Helen M. Rainsford, husband of Elizabeth Dodge, and grandson of the Rev. Dr. William S. Rainsford. He graduated from Trinity College in 1941 and married Elizabeth Dodge in July 1942 (New York Times). His death notice in The New York Times said he died "suddenly, while traveling on official business in the line of duty." Besides his wife, he was survived by a daughter, Gale Rainsford,
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