| In January of 1954, the pilot of an American plane, "3 Cape
Cod", sent out the distress message, "We need aid." The plane and
its 10-member crew disappeared a few short minutes later, and no
plane wreckage was ever found. Did the plane land with a fiery crash
in the waters off the west coast of Korea, or did it crash on a hill
in central Korea as the result of "friendly fire" from an American
Douglas Skyraider? Because of discrepancies in official accident
reports, missing messages from log books, and lost government
document boxes, some family members believe that they have not been
told the whole truth about the plane’s disappearance. More on the
story of 3 Cape Cod will soon be published on the Korean War
Educator website. Until then, learn about this downed American plane
and its crew on the website
http://www.3capecod.com/. That website was created by Satch
Beasley of Nashville, Tennessee, son of USN Lieutenant Jesse
Beasley. Satch, who was eight years old when his family received the
news that 3 Cape Cod did not return from its listening mission off
the coast of China, has never given up his quest for the truth about
his father’s disappearance. He tells us that his career decision to
become a commercial pilot was based in part on his desire to gain
some kind of understanding about his father’s fate and that of the
other devoted Americans serving on 3 Cape Cod. View these pictures
of the ten crew members whose families never saw them alive again.
Left to right, top row, they are: Chief Mechanic Robert George
Archibald; Co-pilot Fredric Traynor Prael; and Mechanic James Frank
Hand; second row: Navigator Paul Dominick Morelli; Navigator Stanley
Burt Mulford; and radioman Bruce David Berger; bottom row: Radioman
Rex Allen Claussen; Radarman Lloyd Bernard Rensink; and Ordinanceman
Gordon Spicklemier. |
