KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Families: Find 3 sailors killed in '46 polar crash
Member Center:
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The Navy and families of three sailors killed in a 1946 plane crash in Antarctica are clashing over whether to bring the men home.
Petty Officer 1st Class Fred Williams, Ensign Maxwell Lopez and Petty Officer 1st Class Wendell Hendersin died when their PBM-5 Mariner went down in a storm.
The six survivors wrapped their remains in parachutes and buried them under a piece of the aircraft's wing tip. The Navy considers the site a final resting place, akin to the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor.
Recovery supporters say glacial movement could cause the site to break off into the sea.
They're forming a nonprofit to raise money for a recovery effort and want to meet with PresidentObama. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command has offered $200,000 to pay for a flight.
___
Information from: San Antonio Express-News, http://www.mysanantonio.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
