Charley River B-24: Army Efforts to Understand the 1943 Crash and Story of Survival

On December 21, 1943, a B-24 Liberator with a crew of five crashed neat the emote headwaters of the Charley River. In 2006, 1-52 Aviation Regiment participated in a recovery mission to the crash site. This event, along with the story of Lt. Leon Crane, the sole survivor who walked back to civilization over 81 days, attracted national attention. This presentation will discuss developments over the past 10 year, including a February 2016 site visit and winter reconnaissance of Crane’s route.

Presented by Major Russ Vanderlugt, Executive Officer of USARK Aviation Task Force at Fort Wainwright, Alaska