36 KILLED IN PLANE CRASH!

SEVEN WOMEN AND NINE CHILDREN ON TRANSPORT FROM ALASKA INVOLVED IN TACOMA DISASTER.

Tacoma (AP) -- A four-engined military transport from Alaska crashed in the fog a mile short of its destination here early Friday, and 36 of the 39 aboard died in the explosion and flames.
The passenger list of servicemen and dependents included several women and nine children. The only survivors, all in Tacoma hospitals, were two airmen and an eight-year-old boy. Two of the women killed were in the military service. Several of the children were babies.
An Air Force information officer from McCloud Air Force Base, where the big C-54 was preparing to land, said the hospitals expressed the belief the three survivors have a good chance to pull through.
Sgt. RAYMOND SMITH, who was reported to have been stationed at McChord Base, died of head injuries after being taken to a hospital.
Plane Was Afire In Air.
At least two witnesses to the tragedy said the plane was afire as it "whooshed" down to a tree-flanked field about a mile from its destination at McChord Air Force Base.
Capt. JACK EASLEY, public information officer at McChord, said early reports to the base indicated the plane struck a tree while coming in through the heavy fog for a ground control approach landing.
All but a section of the tail was destroyed in the resulting fire and explosion. Bodies were scattered over 200 feet from the wreckage.
McChord Base reported the transport, a C-54, was circling for an approach to the field when disaster struck.
ART GETCHMAN, 18, who was driving nearby, and PHILIP BOLDEN, a McChord taxi driver who said the plane flew low over his home, were the witnesses who said the plane appeared to be afire.
GETCHMAN thought there was fire in an engine on the left side; BOLDEN said it "looked like the entire right wing was afire."
Was Flying Extremely Low.
Both said the plane was extremely low.
GETCHMAN told a reporter: "I couldn't hear the motors; it was just a big whoosh."
"I thought it was a meteor," he added. "It just seemed to slide into the ground."
The manifest listed 18 military passengers, 14 civilians and a crew of seven, Captain EASLEY reported.
The only known survivors in Tacoma hospitals early Friday were:
Airman CURTIS REDD, McChord base, burns.
Airman BOBBY WILSON, Great Falls, Mont., head injury, internal injuries and burns.
An Alaskan boy who was listed as JOSEPH ICOAVITT, eight, broken legs and burns.
First witnesses at the scene said they could hear the heart-rendering cries of a baby in the burning wreckage. They were helpless to do anything about it.
Fog Shrouded McChord Field.
Many of the passengers were returning to the states for the year-end holidays. The C-54 left Fairbanks Thursday morning, stopped at Elmendorf base at Anchorage, then flew the 1,400 miles to McChord.
Ironically, only the fog kept the plane's occupants from seeing the lights and safety of the big McChord field before the crash.
The crash scene was strewn with personal belongings. There were many packages indicating the passengers had been shopping, possibly for Christmas, before they started the ill-fated flight.
Hats and clothes were thrown about the field in disarray. Some were partially burned.
Most of the fire was in the forward part of the plane. The tail section and about half the fuselage remained almost intact after being ripped apart by the death-dealing blast.
The plane landed about a block away from a transplanted housing project -- one that had been moved to the McChord area and set up as 35 four-family units. Most of them occupied.
The crash also was about three-quarters of a mile from a business area along the South Tacoma highway. Some of the wreckage was scattered almost up to South 86th Street.
If the death toll stands at 36 in Friday's crash, it makes a total of 198 dead or presumed dead along the arc from Korea to Alaska to McChord and Montana. The total includes 91 on three big transports in Alaska, 55 in two Korea crashes, eight in Montana and eight in a Canadian crash on Vancouver Island.

PLANE CRASH DEAD LISTED BY AIR FORCE.
Washington (AP) -- The Air Force Friday identified the 36 dead and three survivors in the crash of a C-54 transport Friday morning at Tacoma.
The Air Force said the ship's manifest listed 20 air officers and men, including seven crewmen, five army personnel and 14 civilians.
Five of the civilians were women and nine were children.
The dead and their next of kin (relationship unavailable immediately) follow:
M-Sgt. GEORGE E. MORRIS, his wife, MRS. ANNA D. MORRIS, their son GEORGE E. MORRIS, JR. and their daughter, GERALDINE MORRIS. Their next of kin was given as H. K. Papp, 1610 Bonnie Boone, Yakima, Wash.
Airman First Class ROBERT L. PICKEREL, next of kin Mrs. A. B. Pickerel, East 308 28th Ave., Spokane, Wash.
Airman 2nd Class DWIGHT P. JOHNSON, next of kin Gwen C. Johnson, 811 North Pine St., Tacoma.
Airman 2nd Class ELMER WIKON, next of kin Mrs. Charles F. Warren, 3840 Labrante Ave., Salem, Ore.
MRS. DONNA L. FARLEY, wife of Sgt. GLENN D. FARLEY who is a patient in the hospital at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Her next of kin was given as Mrs. Odessa Graves, 238 North Delaware St., Wenatchee, Wash.
Army Sgt. BENNY L. HOCKENBERRY, his wife, ELDA M. HOCKENBERRY and their two daughters, SUSANE and DENISE M. HOCKENBERRY, next of kin listed as D. Lynn Hockenberry, Sunbury, Pa.
Army Cpl. ROBERT E. COONS, next of kin Mrs. Robert F. Coons, Jamestown, N. Y.
Army Pfc. JOSEPH LEBONITTE, next of kin Mrs. J. Lebonitte, St. Albans, Long Island, N. Y.
Army Pfc. CALVIN GALLOWAY, next of kin Mrs. Leola Galloway, Arkansas City, Ark.
Air Force passengers listed among the dead included:
M-Sgt. SAMUEL R. WELLS, his wife, MARGARET A. WELLS and their son, SAMUEL R. WELLS, JR. The next of kin was given as Mrs. E. W. Allison, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Maj. MARION SWANN, next of kin Benjamin L. Swann, Porterville, Calif.
Basic Airman FREDERICK D. PARLETT, next of kin Mrs. Fred Parlett, Dayton, O.
Staff Sgt. RAYMOND SMITH, next of kin Mrs. Ray Smith, Canisteo, N. Y.
Airman 3rd class JACK R. ALSBURY, next of kin Mrs. Norman V. Alsbury, Mason City, Ia.
Airman First Class ROBERT H. COOK next of kin Mrs. Leila Cook, Boise, Ida.
Staff Sgt. EDWIN NIEMI, husband of CLAUDENE NIEMI, Laurel, Miss., care of Jasper Lewis.
First Lt. ANTHONY R. IACOVITTI, his wife, MRS. DOROTHY E. IACOVITTI, their two sons ANTHONY F. and JOHN A. and a daughter, BARBARA IACOVITTI.
Another son, JOSEPH M. IACOVITTI, age 8, is still living and reportedly in fair condition. The next of kin was listed as Joseph Iacovitti of Bridgeport, Pa.
Also listed as living but in critical condition was Airman First Class CURTIS REDD, next of kin, Mrs. Curtis Redd, Fairfax, S. C.
The Air Force listed without home addresses of next of kin, the following six crew members of the plane, all dead:
Capt. ALBERT J. FENTON, pilot.
First Lt. JAMES D. HARVEY, co-pilot.
Airman First Class WILBUR G. CHILDERNS.
Staff Sgt. JOSEPH H. BOKINSKY.
Airman 2nd Class JOHN H. BENEDICT.
Airman 3rd Class PATRICIA BENTLEY.
A seventh crew member survived but was listed as in critical condition. He is Airman 3rd Class BOBBY WILSON.

The Daily Chronicle Centralia Washington 1952-11-28
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!