A Lockheed Constellation L-1049, similar to the aircraft that disappeared. [Credit: Ruth As]
Key Takeaways:
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, a secret U.S. military charter carrying 107 people (mostly U.S. Army soldiers bound for Vietnam), disappeared without a trace over the Pacific Ocean on March 16, 1962, becoming a significant aviation mystery.
Despite the mission's connection to the early stages of the Vietnam War, the names of those lost on Flight 739 are not included on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Families of the victims are actively campaigning for official recognition, including the addition of their loved ones' names to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and have established a separate monument in Maine to honor their service and sacrifice.
Sixty years ago, as the U.S. was becoming more involved in the opening salvo of the Vietnam War, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation was making its way west.
The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) charter flight was operating under Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, and was headed to Saigon, leapfrogging across the South Pacific by way of Honolulu, Wake Island, and Guam.
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