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 November 1952, a C-124 Globemaster II carrying 52 servicemen crashed into Mount Gannett, Alaska, due to navigational error and severe weather, with the wreckage initially deemed unrecoverable.
Decades later, in 2012, wreckage and human remains emerged from Colony Glacier, miles from the original crash site due to glacial movement, initiating recovery efforts led by military teams.
Through ongoing recovery operations, all but eight of the 52 servicemen have been identified, providing some form of closure for families who had experienced "ambiguous loss."
The incident highlights a significant gap in military policy, as no single Department of Defense agency exists to track and recover non-war-related missing service members, frustrating affected families seeking recognition and support.

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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.