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WWII Plane Crash
Jan. 15, 1943
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"Worst Air Disaster Kills 35"
-New York Times Headlines
Jan. 22, 1943
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Relatives of the 35 passengers killed in what was at the time the worst air disaster in the Western Hemisphere need your help. A C-54 flown by a TWA crew under contract to the Air Transport Command, most likely on its way to the Casablanca Conference, crashed in the jungle 30 miles from Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana (now Suriname). Rumors of a bomb on board caused the pilot, Benjamin Hart Dally, to land in Trinidad and search the plane. A screwdriver was found in the hatch containing the IFF (Interrogation Friend, Foe) device. No bomb was found. Consequently, security at US Bases worldwide was beefed up by Maj. Gen. Harold George immediately following this tragic disaster.
Among those lost was my grandfather, Maj. Eric Mowbray Knight, highest-ranking military person on board and author of the beloved novel, Lassie Come-Home. He was a devoted patriot of his land of birth, Yorkshire, Eng., and adopted country, the USA. Having fought in WWI in the Princess Pat's Canadian Light Infantry, he reinlisted in the US Army and helped co-author the Battle of Britain in the "Why We Fight" Series with Frank Capra.
Evidence at the crash site indicates this was a secret flight to North Africa. Included were large sums of money and secret-coded documents for British General Sir Harold Alexander. The crash made headlines in major newspapers across the U.S articles a week following the crash. The head of the Air Transport Command, promised an investigation into the cause. To this date, no official cause has been given by the United States Government. We need your help.
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Eric Knight visits with Eleanor Roosevelt
Hyde Park, NY 1941
c. 1999 Betsy Cowan
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Winifred Knight Mewborn (on right),daughter
and
Betsy Mewborn Cowan (on left),granddaughter
c. 1999 Betsy Cowan
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Eric Knight in Uniform
1942
c. 1999 Betsy Cowan
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MILITARY PERSONNEL
Eric M. Knight, 45, Major, USA, OSS,
Author of Lassie Come Home
Jere B. Knight, Quakertown, PA
Albert L. Seeman, Capt., SC
Mrs. Elizabeth G. Seeman
Seattle, WA
Basil D. (Red) Gallagher, Capt.
Sp. Services,
Upper Darby, PA, Plainfield, NJ
Charles W. Campbell, First Lieutenant
Quartermasters Corps
Ruth N. Campbell
Salt Lake City, UT
Peter D. Barnhart, First Lieutenant, SC
Parents Rev. & Mrs. P.W. Barnhart
418 Lovejoy St.
Atlanta, GA
Donald C. Martin, First Lieutenant
Air Corps
Ann Arbor, MI
Carl A. Matteo, 25, Second Lieutenant
Air Corps
Niles, OH
Robert B. Walker, Second Lieutenant
Air Corps
Seattle, WA
John T. Girling, Second Lieutenant
Air Corps
Los Angeles, CA
Thomas L. Gallagher, Second Lieutenant
Air Corps
Upper Darby, PA
Max Solomon, Second Lieutenant
Air Corps
Turners Falls, MA
Charles S Shively, Flight Officer
Air Corps
North Bend, OR
Russell A. Baughman, Staff Sergeant
Air Corps
Whittaker, PA
Ellis H. Roberts, Jr., Staff Sergeant
Air Corps
Denham, TX
Heyward O. Wylie, Staff Sergeant
Air Corps
Decatur, IL
Roger M. Stoflet, Staff Sergeant
Air Corps
Mother Lulu Stoflet
Lyons, WI
Oscar Spahr, Jr., Sergeant
Air Corps
Irene I. Spahr
Miami Beach, FL
Charles S. Roberts, Jr., Sergeant
Air Corps
Mother Sarah L. Roberts
Bowman, GA
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CREW
Transcontinental & Western Airlines
Capt. Benjamin Hart Dally, Jr, 35
Pilot, TWA
Wife Susan H. Dally (now deceased)
Daughter Judith Ann (now Woodard - living in New Mexico)
18 Roland Parkway
Alexandria, VA
(originally from Mission, KS)
Dr. Samuel S. Dorrance
Flight Surgeon, TWA
Wife Dorothy Elsa Smith Dorrance
40 S. Main Ave.
Parents Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Dransky
Albany, NY
Theodore M. Wagner, 26
First Officer,TWA
Wife Mrs. R.M. Wagner
Glen Echo Park, MD
Everett Lee Bacon, 31
Second Officer, TWA
Son, Roger Lee Bacon, 3
5310 Stoneleigh
Dallas, TX
Jason E. Voss, 23
First Navigator, TWA
Parents Mr. & Mrs. Elmer C. Voss
5058 Oleathea Ave.
St. Louis, MO Western Air
James M. Kane, 26
Second Navigator, TWA
Wife Alice Bernice Kane
Daughter Judith Mayreen
434 Oakhurst Drive
Beverly Hills, CA
Clyde E. Quisenberry, 31
Flight Engineer, TWA
Wife Mary Quisenberry
5 East Howell St.
Alexandria, VA
Leonard La Frank, 31
First Radio Officer, TWA
Wife Joan B. La Frank
Son Victor La Frank, 10 mo.
20 Forest St
Alexandria, VA
Leo J. Moriarty, 19
Second Radio Operator,TWA
Parents Mr. & Mrs. Leo F. Moriarity
2820 Monterey St.
St. Joseph, MO
Eugene A. Dempf
Flight Purser, TWA
Mother Mathilda Dempf
1729 Norman St
Brooklyn, NY
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CIVILIAN
Percy E. Foxworth, 36
Asst. Dir. FBI New York Office
Mrs. Sarah Ann Foxworth
New York, NY
3 sisters:
Mattie G.
Mrs. Robt. Smith, Mobile, AL
Mrs. J.B.Sutton, Pulaski, TN
Harold D. Haberfeld, 30
Special Agent, FBI, worked in Algiers
Buffalo, NY
William Hodson
U. S. State Department,
New York Welfare Commissioner
Minneapolis, MN
daughter Mrs. Thomas Street
2 sons:
William Hodson
Jeremy Hodson
James W. Seeger
Civilian Employee, Army Signal Corps
Fort Monmouth, NJ
Charles Howell Brown
Representative, California-Arabian Oil Co.
Osmon E. Henryson, 37
U. S. State Department,
Diplomatic Clerk to
Am. Consulate General, Algiers
2022 N Street NW
Washington, DC
Story City, IA
Morris Lewis, 34
Information Specialist,
Office Brig. Gen F.H. Osborn
Spec. Serv. War Dept.,
Former Publicity Director
Committee to Defend America
Mary Owings Lewis
66 West 11th St.
New York City, NY
Parents Mr. & Mrs. Twilford Lewis
Queenstown, MD
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YOU CAN HELP !
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We would like to hear from any relatives of those killed. We would appreciate information from any of those associated with Major General Harold George's investigation, any personnel who investigated the crash site, or ground crew associated with Franklin Delano Roosevelt's leaving the United States Jan. 11, 1943 (Bolling Air Force Base). Persons associated with German Abwar or submarine activities around South America may have the information we need. ANY FORMER OR PRESENT FBI PERSONNEL COULD ESPECIALLY PROVIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION!
To help contact Betsy Cowan.
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