The Last Flight of George 1

Operation Highjump — The US Navy Antarctic Developments Program 1946-47

Operation Highjump used Martin PBM-5 Mariner seaplanes to map and photograph the Antarctic coast from the Thurston Peninsula — which in 1960 was determined to be an island — as far as the western end of the Weddell Sea. George 1 was one of those PBM-5s.

The First Flight of George 1 — December 29, 1946

On December 29, 1946, the USS Pine Island was about 350 miles north of Ellsworth Land, Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica.

George 1 left the Pine Island for its first flight at about 1:00 p.m. on December 29, 1946.

Flight Crew 1 included:

• Lt. Commander "Iron John" Howell, pilot — Johnson City, TN
• Lieutenant Dale F. Mincer, co-pilot — Searsboro, IA
• Ensign Martin E. "Gene" Litz, navigator — Baltimore, MD
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate William H. Mills, Jr., flight engineer — Philadelphia, PA
• Aviation Radioman 2nd Class William F. Smith, first radar/radioman — Butler, PA
• Aviation Radioman Vernon R. Hlubeck, second radar radioman — Mahnomen, MN
• Chief Photographer’s Mate Richard Simpson
• Aviation Radioman Phillip W. Rexford, third radioman — Kalispell, MT
• Captain George J. Dufek — commander of Operation Highjump's Eastern Group — onboard as an observer.

George 1 returned to the Pine Island at 11:05 p.m.

The First Flight of George 2 — December 29, 1946

About 6:30 p.m. on December 29, 1946, George 1 had radioed back to the Pine Island that the skies were clear over the Antarctic continent — CAVU: ceiling and visibility unlimited.

George 2 and Flight Crew 2 left the Pine Island shortly after getting that CAVU report, on a mission to photograph part of the coast of Antarctica.

• Lieutenant (jg) James Ball, pilot
• Lieutenant (jg) Bob Goff, co-pilot
• Ensign Robert Howard Jones, navigator and second pilot
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate John Shafer, crew chief and first flight engineer
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate Murray Schmidt, second flight engineer
• Aviation Radioman Milton Blake, Jr., first radar/radioman
• Aviation Radioman Jeremiah Riley, third radar/radioman
• Chief Photographer’s Mate 1st Class James B. Payne

Frenchy LeBlanc had ordered J.D. Dickens not to fly because of his abscessed tooth, so Bill Warr became crew chief for this flight, and Fred Williams (right) joined the crew as flight engineer:

• Lieutenant (jg) Ralph “Frenchy” LeBlanc, pilot — Breaux Bridge, LA
• Lieutenant (jg) Bill Kearns, co-pilot — Boston, MA
• Ensign Max Lopez, navigator — Newport RI
• Aviation Radioman 1st Class Bud Hendersin, radioman — Sparta, WI
• Chief Photographer’s Mate Owen McCarty — Sonoma County, CA
• Aviation Radioman 2nd Class James “Robbie” Robbins, radar/radioman — San Diego, CA
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class William Warr, crew chief — Reading, PA
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Fred Williams, flight engineer — Huntingdon, TN
• Captain Henry Caldwell — skipper of the Pine Island — was in George 1's observation dome because he wanted to see the Antarctic coast, the focus of Operation Highjump's mission.

The Crash of George 1

Shortly after 6:00 a.m., George 1, flying at 118 knots, crashed into the side of a hill, broke up, and partially burned. Three of the nine men onboard — Max Lopez, Bud Hendersin, and Fred Williams — were killed.

The crash was at 900 feet above sea level at latitude 71° 33’ south, longitude 98° 45’ west, about ten miles from open water.

Burial of Three Deceased Navy Flyers

On Thursday, January 2, 1947:

• Owen McCarty buried Fred Williams, who had been thrown from the plane, in a shallow grave in the snow near where he died.
• Henry Caldwell, Robbie Robbins, and William Warr removed the bodies of Max Lopez and Bud Hendersin from the wrecked plane and buried them side-by-side in shallow graves in the snow.

On Sunday, January 5, 1947, the survivors dug a grave for their fallen comrades under George 1’s starboard wing. After they buried Max Lopez, Bud Hendersin, and Fred Williams in what they assumed would be a temporary grave, Captain Henry Caldwell improvised a burial service.

Using yellow primer he found in the wreckage, Robbie Robbins painted "Lopez Hendersin Williams Dead" on the starboard wing.

Lieutenant James Ball and the George 2 crew left the Pine Island at 7:00 a.m. on January 11, 1947, and sighted the wreckage of George 1 at about 11:00 a.m. They radioed the good and bad news back to the Pine Island.

George 2 stayed in the area for about six hours, photographed the crash site, dropped messages and supplies, and located open water about ten miles north of the crash site. Chief Pharmacist's Mate W.A. Long of Monroe, North Carolina, was onboard — and was prepared to parachute to the crash site if the survivors signaled that they weren't able to make the ten-mile hike to open water.

The survivors joined hands in a circle to indicate that they could attempt the hike, so George 2 dropped markers in the snow to guide the way to open water. Ensign Robert Howard Jones, George 2's navigator, wrote a report on finding the survivors.

George 3 Rescues the Surviving Navy Flyers — January 11-12, 1947

"George 3 was on the water being gassed up when the ship informed us that the wreck of George 1 had been found along with survivors. 'Iron John' Howell went back aboard ship to be brought up to date on the details and get the location. When he came back aboard he handed me a note with the lat. and long. on it and said something like 'your buddy Lopez is dead but there are survivors. Here's the position of the crash so plot a course and let's go get them.'" — October 2008 email from Navigator Gene Litz.

George 3 took off from waters next to the Pine Island at 1:57 p.m. on January 11, 1947.

• Lt. Commander "Iron John" Howell, pilot — Johnson City, TN
• Lieutenant Dale F. Mincer, co-pilot — Searsboro, IA
• Ensign Martin E. "Gene" Litz, navigator — Baltimore, MD
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate William H. Mills, Jr., flight engineer — Philadelphia, PA
• Aviation Machinist’s Mate George H. Marck, flight engineer — Elmhurst, NY
• Aviation Radioman 2nd Class William F. Smith, first radar radioman — Butler, PA
• Aviation Radioman Vernon R. Hlubeck, second radar radioman — Mahnomen, MN
• Chief Photographer’s Mate Richard Conger — East Detroit, MI
• Aviation Radioman Phillip W. Rexford, third radioman — Kalispell, MT
• Chief Pharmacist's Mate Osborne M. Tribby — Venice, FL

Howell and Conger reached the survivors about a mile from shore and helped them back to the life raft. Dense fog made them wait until morning to row back to George 3.

George 3, with the survivors onboard, reached the Pine Island at 11:20 a.m. on January 12, 1947 after a ninety-minute flight.

On January 18, 1947, the survivors — except Captain Henry Caldwell (right), who insisted on resuming command of the Pine Island — were transferred to the USS Brownson, which took seven days to reach the USS Philippine Sea, where the survivors were taken onboard and returned to the U.S.