ROBERTS EDISON I

CW2 Edison I Roberts was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 03/15/1962 (Exact date not known.) from A/C accident
Flight Class 56-8
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with 57 TC CO in 61-62
This information was provided by Ross Rainwater

More detail on this person: Airplane crash while returning to RVN in 1962. Edison L Roberts Additional Information Last Known Activity Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 was a Super Constellation propliner chartered by the United States military that disappeared on 15 March 1962 over the Western Pacific Ocean. The aircraft was transporting 93 Army men and 3 South Vietnamese from Travis Air Force Base, California to Saigon, Vietnam. After refueling at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the Super Constellation was en route to Clark Air Base in the Philippines when it disappeared. All 107 aboard were declared missing and presumed dead. The airliner's disappearance prompted one of the largest air and sea searches in the history of the Pacific. Aircraft and surface ships from four branches of the US military searched more than 200,000 square miles (520,000 km2) during the course of eight days. A civilian tanker observed what appeared to be an in-flight explosion believed to be the missing Super Constellation, though no trace of wreckage or debris was ever recovered. The Civil Aeronautics Board determined that, based on the tanker's observations, Flight 739 probably exploded in-flight, though an exact cause could not be determined without examining the remnants of the aircraft. The aircraft was a 5-year-old Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation with a total of 17,224 airframe hours. It carried 11 American civilian crew members and 96 military passengers. The flight was operated by the Flying Tiger Line as Military Air Transport Service (MATS) Charter flight 739. The Super Constellation carried 93 jungle-trained Army Rangers en route to South Vietnam. Their orders were to relieve soldiers in Saigon who had been training Vietnamese troops to fight Viet Cong guerrillas. Also on board were three members of the Vietnamese military. The flight crew consisted of eleven civilians based out of California, including four women. The pilot was Captain Gregory P. Thomas. The flight originated from Travis Air Force Base, California, and was destined for Saigon. There were four planned refueling stops: Honolulu, Hawaii; Wake Island; Guam; and Clark Air Base, Philippines. The flight arrived at Guam at 11:14 GMT after being delayed for minor maintenance on engines numbers 1 and 3 at Honolulu, and later at Wake Island. The aircraft departed from Guam at 12:57 GMT with an estimated time of arrival at the Philippines at 19:16 GMT. The Super Constellation carried nine hours of fuel for the 1,600 miles (2,600 km), 8-hour flight. Eighty minutes after departure, at 14:22 GMT, the pilot radioed a routine message and gave his position as being 280 miles west of Guam at coordinates ( WikiMiniAtlas 13°40?N 140°0?E / 13.667°N 140°E / 13.667; 140). The aircraft was expected to reach WikiMiniAtlas 14°00?N 135°0?E / 14°N 135°E / 14; 135 at 15:30. At that time, the Guam IFSS experienced temporary communication difficulties with heavy radio static. At 15:39 the Guam radio operator attempted to contact the flight for a position report but was unable to establish contact. The aircraft was not seen or heard from again. Comments/Citation United States military personnel who were on Flight 739: Homer D. Adams, Ukon, West Virginia James R. Armes, Virginia Billy J. Atkins, North Carolina Robert H. Baggett, North Carolina Robert J. Bako, Elbridge, New York Donald Aaron Barnes, Illinois Thomas Wilson Baxley, Thomasville, Georgia Richard S. Bayse, Prince George, Virginia Henry Francis "Hank" Biernacki , Colorado George W. Bliss, Fort Jay, New York James Dale Bowen, Indianapolis, Indiana Joseph F. Broome, Danville, Virginia John Joseph Burns, Vermont John H. Callahan, Pennsvanyia Larry Dean Canon, Chino, California William F. Caseldine, Missouri Edward Donald P. Cox, Amarillo, Texas Lucius D. Croft, South Carolina Harold Lamonde Curry, Mangum, Oklahoma Douglas P. Dickey, Louisiana Ernest T. Dixon, Jesup, Georgia James Allen Edwards, Hanceville, Alabama Lawrence A. Fox, Canestoga, New York Howard Roy Gallipeau, Jr., Washington Clarence F. Gananca, Jr., New York John L. Geiser, Granite, Maryland Robert R. Glassman, San Jose, California Walter Glynn, Tocoma, Washington Roy E. Greenleaf, New Mexico Charles W. Griffith, Cincinnati, Ohio Sidney Lee Grissom, Missouri Douglas A. Haaf, New York Melvin Lewis Hatt, Michigan Donald W. Henderson, Mt. Auburn, Illinois Robert N. Henderson, California Lindsay K. Hester, Virginia Timothy F. Hopkins, Spokane, Washington Clinton M. Hoy, Arizona Samuel L. Hunter, Claflin, Kansas William Reeves Jarvis, Kentucky John Charles "Corky" Jennings, Newell, West Virginia James Woodrow Johnston, Tennessee John H. H. Jones, Columbus, Georgia John J. Jones, Ogden, Utah John Kanisky, Holland John Altman Karibo, Ohio Guy Wicks Kinnison, Hawaii Charles Edward Kissee, California Jack E. Lattie, Grovetown, Georgia Adam Sablan Leddy, Guam Warren M. Lehmkuhl, Columbus, Georgia Franklin D. McClure, Dallas, Georgia Stanley W. McEntee, Detroit, Michigan Steven Medwid, Alexandria, Virginia Billy W. Mick, Arizona Tom B. Morrison, Nebraska Raymond E. Myers, Warren, Arizona Nicholas Nichols, Jr., Seaside, California Roger L. Oliver, Wisconsin Jack C. Packard, Lodi, Wisconsin Charles W. Pardonnet, Colorado Frank E. Pelkey, Maine Lawrence R. Perkins, Chicago, Illinois James A. Powell, Ft. Worth, Texas Walter A. Reinhardt, Hammond, Indiana Hubert Lloyd Rice, Waynesville, Missouri Delbert Leonard Riggins, Boise, Idaho Edison L. Roberts, Tacoma, Washington Eddie F. Robinson, Benton, Arkansas Leslie J. Roderick, Jr., Missouri Samuel Rogers, Jr., Pine Bluff, Arkansas Leslie M. Saade/Salada, Erie, Pennsylvania Edmond Saenz, California George E. Sager, Bergton, Virginia Donald A. Sargent, New Hampshire Andrew Alexander Sheard, III, Pennsylvania Efisio Simola, Jr., San Antonio, Texas George M. Slocum, Westfield, New York Elmer L. Smith, Missouri James C. Sorenson, Washington Fred W. Talbot, New York James H. Taylor, Michigan Peter Thamy, Vallejo, California John A. Thomas, Ridgeway, Ohio Clarence Earl Thompson, Big Spring, Texas Jack E. Tranum, Augusta, Georgia James Edward Twitty, Virginia Wallace L. Walcott, Tocoma, Washington Ross C. Walker, Pickens, South Carolina Leonard J. Wedge, Maine John Cabot Wendell, San Antonio, Texas Albert Francis Williams, Jr., Washington James Wong, Hawaii Flight crew of Flight 739: Grady R. Burt, Navigator, Baldwin Park, California Robbie J. Gazzaway, 2nd Officer, Fillmore, California William T. Kennedy, Navigator, Braintree, California Clayton E. McClellan, Flight Engineer, San Mateo, California Hildegarde Muller, Stewardess, California George M. Nau, Flight Engineer, Pacoima, California Christel Reiter, Stewardess, San Mateo, California Gregory P. Thomas, Captain, Red Bank, New Jersey Barbara Wamsley, Senior Flight Attendant, Santa Barbara, California Patricia Wassum, Stewardess, California Robert J. Wish, 1st Officer, Hidden Hills, California Burial: Bodys lost at sea

This information was last updated 04/23/2020

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