shemya funeral, hillside cemetery services
The following is the story of one of Shemya's 404th Bomb Squadron's greatest
tragedies. A B-24 with the 404th's CO, Lt. Col. John Lawson on board, approached
Shemya on June 16th, 1946 in a routine flight back from the mainland of Alaska. The
B-24 and its crew ran into a dreaded but typical heavy fog as it approached Shemya.
The fog was so thick, it prevented the B-24 from landing. Instead, they circled the
island as long as they could, waiting for the fog to break. No luck. . .the fog didn't lift,
and the B-24 ran out of fuel. With no options left, the crew bailed out of the aircraft.
Lt. Col. Larsen was killed, along with Lt. Phillip Oltuskey, 1st Lt. Hilger, Staff Sgt.
Throop, and Pfc Elebee. Surviving the crash were Lt. Augustine, Sgt. Croan, and Cpl.
Earls. The pictures are of the funeral services held at Shemya's Hillside Cemetery and
of the service at Shemya's Base Chapel on the 16th of July, 1946. What makes this
event even more tragic is that it happened when the war was over!
Our thanks goes to William Blake (a former resident of Shemya in 1946 while assigned
to the 404th Bomb Squadron (H) and contributor of many of the photos seen on the
Shemya WWII pages) for this information and for the photos as well. Bill currently
lives in Medford, MA.
Current Update: 06/09/2022
Originally Published: 06/02.1999
shemya funeral, hillside cemetery services
The following is the story of one of Shemya's 404th
Bomb Squadron's greatest tragedies. A B-24 with the
404th's CO, Lt. Col. John Lawson on board, approached
Shemya on June 16th, 1946 in a routine flight back
from the mainland of Alaska. The B-24 and its crew
ran into a dreaded but typical heavy fog as it
approached Shemya. The fog was so thick, it
prevented the B-24 from landing. Instead, they circled
the island as long as they could, waiting for the fog to
break. No luck. . .the fog didn't lift, and the B-24 ran
out of fuel. With no options left, the crew bailed out of
the aircraft. Lt. Col. Larsen was killed, along with Lt.
Phillip Oltuskey, 1st Lt. Hilger, Staff Sgt. Throop, and
Pfc Elebee. Surviving the crash were Lt. Augustine, Sgt.
Croan, and Cpl. Earls. The pictures are of the funeral
services held at Shemya's Hillside Cemetery and of the
service at Shemya's Base Chapel on the 16th of July,
1946. What makes this event even more tragic is that
it happened when the war was over!
Our thanks goes to William Blake (a former resident of
Shemya in 1946 while assigned to the 404th Bomb
Squadron (H) and contributor of many of the photos
seen on the Shemya WWII pages) for this information
and for the photos as well. Bill currently lives in
Medford, MA.
Current Update: 06/09/2022
Originally Published: 06/02.1999