A Recovery Mission Continues—Nearly Seven Decades Later

In 1952, a C-124 flew straight into a remote Alaskan mountain top, killing all aboard. Here’s the story of what it’s taking to bring them home.

Kimberly Johnson

Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 12:32 PM ET

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In the 1950s, the C-124 was the largest cargo aircraft the U.S. had in its arsenal. Courtesy: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Key Takeaways:

In 1952, a C-124 Globemaster II aircraft carrying 52 service members crashed into Mount Gannett, Alaska, due to navigational errors and unpredicted severe weather, with initial recovery attempts deemed impossible due to deep snow and avalanches.
Decades later, starting in 2012, wreckage and human remains began to emerge from Colony Glacier, miles from the original crash site, due to glacial movement, initiating ongoing recovery efforts providing crucial resolution for families experiencing "ambiguous loss."
The incident highlights a significant gap in U.S. military policy, as no centralized agency tracks or recovers domestic, non-combat related missing service members, compelling families to advocate for these cases and the continued, challenging recovery of the remaining individuals.

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Airman Issac Anderson *Courtesy: Tonja Anderson-Dell*

On the afternoon of November 22, 1952, and while sitting at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington, awaiting a transport flight to his next duty station, Airman Isaac Anderson took advantage of what time he had left. He pulled out paper to write a letter home to his wife, Dorothy, who was more than 3,000 miles away at their home in Tampa, Florida.

The 22-year-old had been in the service for less than two years, joining the U.S. Air Force as the service began desegregation. He was motivated to enlist in order to provide a better life for his wife and their son—his namesake—who was celebrating his second birthday in two months.