In God We Trust
This page honors the nine female Air Force veterans who lost their lives while serving in the military during the Korean War. May they never be forgotten.
Killed in a C-54G crash, November 28, 1952.
Airman 3C Patricia Jean Bentley was born August 24, 1928, and was a member of the 84th Air Traffic Squadron when she was killed in this plane crash. She is buried in Park View Cemetery, Manteca, California.
Killed in a Douglas C-54 Medical Transport crash, September 26, 1950.
There were forty-three passengers, and eight crew members onboard this Douglas C-54-DC (DC-54) Skymaster medical aircraft (registration number 42-72457) when it crashed in the Korea strait one mile from the end of the runway after taking off from Ashiya Air Base. The aircraft was assigned to the 6th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 374th Troop Carrier Wing based in Tachikawa Air Base, Japan. Killed were eighteen passengers and five crew members, including one of two females on the flight, Vera Maude Brown.
Captain Brown, a World War II nurse from Birmingham, Alabama, was assigned to the 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron and was on this air evacuation flight. According to the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General in Washington, D.C., Captain Brown received the Distinguished Flying Cross posthumously. She also received an Air Medal posthumously. (See the Awards section of this page.) It should be noted that in an official preliminary accident report transmission from Far East Air Forces headquarters, Vera Brown (Service Number 763137) was listed as flight nurse "Victor" Brown.
Vera Maude Brown was born in Cragford, Alabama on November 10, 1920, which meant that she was 29 years old at the time of her death. She was the daughter of Mrs. H. W. (Arizona Mackey) Boone of Birmingham, and the sister of Mrs. Virginia (Hodnett) Covington, both of whom lived at 8605 3rd Avenue North, Birmingham 6, Alabama. In addition to her mother and sister, she was survived by a niece and nephew. Her father was deceased. She was a member of the Baptist Church.
Vera graduated from Randolph County High School in Wedowee, Alabama in 1939, and then from the Training School for Nurses at Norwood Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama, on September 01, 1942. She was a nurse at the Knight Sanitorum in Roanoke, Alabama before working as an obstetrical supervisor at Norwood Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama from September to December 1942. She served one month in January 1943 as Head Nurse at Norwood Hospital. She joined the Army Nurse Corps thereafter.
In October of 1944 1st Lieutenant Brown was transferred from the 28th AAF Base Unit, AAF Regional Station Hospital No. 1 at Coral Gables, Florida, to the AAF Convalescent Hospital in Miami, Florida. She was ordered to the School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph field, Texas, on July 8, 1945 for a course of instruction in aviation nursing that lasted nine weeks. After she graduated from the AAF School of Aviation Medicine on September 8, 1945, she had a tour of duty in a general hospital in Japan. She was designated "flight nurse" in October of 1945 at Randolph Field. On March 31, 1946, she filled out a request for an allotment of $75-$85 per month for her mother's living expenses. She was stationed at March Field, Riverside, California, in 1947 in Squad M, 420th AAF BU as a 1st Lieutenant. Records in her file indicate that she had participated in regular and frequent aerial flights (air evacuation) since 1 April 1949, and was recommended for flying status as of May 1, 1949.
A commander's report from March Field stated that Vera Brown was: "An attractive, cheerful nurse, has a pleasing personality, is extremely well liked by all her associates, carries on her duties in an efficient manner, gives the patients excellent care." Another similar report stated: "This officer possesses a very wholesome attitude, she is friendly and feels her responsibility toward her superiors and toward those who are under her jurisdiction and care. Accepts responsibility cheerfully and is conscientious." Vera's job proficiency reports from all of her commanding officers were full of high praise for her.
In July of 1949, at her request, Vera Brown was transferred from Department Reserve, US Army, to the US Air Force Reserve. She had temporary duty with the 19th Medical Group in Guam in 1949, and then received orders for further TDY to the 347th Troop Carrier Wing for five days in November of 1949 for the purpose of evacuating patients. That same November, Capt. Vera Brown certified that she elected to remain on active duty from November 30, 1949 to November 30, 1950. She was transferred to Japan on February 29, 1950. On June 5, 1950, she received orders for temporary duty with the 51st Medical Group. While on temporary duty with the 801st M.A.E.S. in Honshu, Japan, she received the following report from Capt. Louise Bainbridge, her superior officer, on June 15, 1950: "Subject officer has prerequisites of an excellent nurse. Does not hesitate to seek advice. Conscientious, aggressive and cooperative. This officer shows a high degree of judgment in economical management of personnel and resources under her supervision, commensurate with her responsibilities. One who willingly accepts her responsibilities toward the control, supervision, direction and instruction of subordinates, and exacts a high degree of conformance to standards of conduct and discipline expected of Air Force Officers. A financially responsible, trustworthy officer who has high moral standards. A reserved and serious officer who has a most pleasing personality and would be useful as a staff duty nurse or chief nurse. This officer could easily assume a more important position and greater responsibilities. She endeavors to keep herself informed of new developments and techniques in her profession."
Captain Vera Brown perished in an aircraft accident on September 26, 1950. Her remains were recovered following the aircraft accident and she was taken to the 118th Station Hospital, where se was pronounced dead on arrival. The official government report lists cause of death as, "Drowning, secondary to air crash." Soon thereafter, permission was granted to remove the remains to the United States Cemetery in Yokohama, Honshu, Japan. They were later transferred back to the States via the USNS General Walker on October 16, 1950 to San Francisco, California, and then transported to Alabama, where she was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery. In her honor, in May of 1951 the Future Nurses Club of Phillips High School. Birmingham, Alabama, became the Vera M. Brown Chapter, Future Nurses of America.
George Truman William Waters of Heflin, Alabama, a World War II Prisoner of War and author of the book, No Thought for Tomorrow, remembers Vera Brown because they were both graduates of Randolph County High School in the Class of 1939. Carolyn Johnson of Roopville, Georgia wrote to the KWE in February 2014 to say, "What memories you brought back with your mention of Capt. Vera Maude Brown. Her mother, Mrs. Boone, was a very caring neighbor of my parents before I was born. My parents lost a child in a car accident, and Mrs. Boone was a great help to them. Vera Maude must have been a teenager in 1937 when my sister was born. She stayed and helped until Mama was able to do her housework. I don't know whether they paid her. I was three and don't remember her, but have heard them speak favorably of her so many times. Her nursing instincts must have come in early, as they told of one time they thought I had been hurt and the care she gave me. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of her. I don't recall ever seeing one. I would love to know more about her."
Funeral services for Capt. Vera Brown were held at Brown-Service Chapel with Dr. Lambuth Archibald and Rev. H.O. Hester officiating. Burial was in Forest Hill Cemetery. Members of Irondale Post No. 160, American Legion, were pallbearers. North Jefferson Post No. 102 of the Legion conducted graveside services.
Killed in Cessna Crash - Civilian Twin Engine, September 04, 1951.
Clara Drake was born January 9, 1923, in Ballston Spa, New York. She is listed as the daughter of Timothy A. and Adora B. Sullivan. She was a World War II veteran and Captain in the US Air Force attached to the 39th Air Force Medical Group as a nurse stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. She and her husband (married just days before) were among the passengers in a twin-engine Cessna T-50 that crashed shortly after takeoff in a suburb of Anchorage. The plane, owned by Christiansen's Flying Service, left Marill Field and was en route to Seward, Alaska when one of the engines caught fire, causing the fiery plane to crash in the back yard of a suburban home. All five persons onboard were killed. (See also Cessna - Twin Engine - September 04, 1951.) Clara was married to Capt. Donald Varner Drake, who also died in the plane crash. Clara is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery, Ballston Spa, New York. Her husband was born August 01, 1920, in Pennsylvania, a son of John Wesley Drake (1895-1991) and Lulu M. Varner Drake (1895-1986). He was a World War II veteran who enlisted in the Air Force on October 21, 1939. Donald was survived by his parents and his siblings Mrs. Herbert Glenn (Eleanor Drake) Benton (1922-2017), Wilfred "Bud" "Fred" Drake (died 2012) and Roger Drake. He is buried in Scrubgrass Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Emlenton, Pennsylvania.
Killed in a C-47 Skytrain #47-76266 crash, December 30, 1951.
WAF Sgt. Jeanne J. Garafalo, 20 years of age, Plainfield, New Jersey, was assigned to the 4th Weather Squadron, Continental Air Command. While a passenger on C-47 Skytrain 47-76266, the aircraft crashed in the Armer Mountains, Central Arizona, on December 30, 1951, killing Sergeant Garafalo and 27 others on the plane. The full story of this crash can be found on the Airplane Crashes Topics page of the KWE. Jeanne was the daughter of James Garafalo (1905-1983) and Lillian Garafalo (1909-1995). She is buried in Saint Gertrude Cemetery and Mausoleum, Colonia, New Jersey.
Killed in C-47 collision with a C-124 Globemaster, April 04, 1952.
Sara Elizabeth Long was the flight nurse on C-47 #45-0926 on April 4, 1952. The C-47 was on a mercy flight from Maxwell Air Force Base to Brookley Air Force Base. On the flight was a family of three, an Army doctor, Captain Long, a hospital technician, and the crew. The family was attempting to get their small child to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington to remove a life-threatening tumor. The C-47 collided with Globemaster #50-1260. Everyone on both planes were killed.
Sara was born June 17, 1915 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Albert H. Long and Eva A. Lowry Long. Siblings listed on a 1910 census included Albert R., Raymond and Harold R. Long. Captain Long served in World War II from August 1942 to April 21, 1943, and then February 06, 1945 to February of 1945. During those time frames she served overseas and stateside. She was still serving in the military at the time of the crash.
Killed in a C-47 Skymaster crash, December 22, 1952.
Virginia May McClure was born to Edgar R. McClure (1885-1972) and Lena M. Talcott McClure (1886-1945) on June 13, 1922, in Tabor, Iowa. She went to school there until her last year of high school, when she transferred to Springfield, South Dakota. Her father was the former editor of the Tabor Beacon newspaper in Tabor, and was a former co-owner of the Fontanelle Observer newspaper in Fontanelle, Iowa. In 1938 he moved his family to Springfield, South Dakota, where he became editor of the Springfield Times in Bon Homme County.
Virginia graduated from high school in 1939 and then went to Southern State Teachers College for a year. After that she went to the school of nursing at Lutheran hospital in Sioux City, Iowa. Virginia graduated from the nursing school in 1943 with a degree in nursing and x-ray technology. Before she enlisted into military service, Virginia was employed in her field in Sioux City.
Virginia joined the Air Force nursing service in June of 1951. Lt. McClure was assigned to the hospital at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi, then applied for overseas service, and was assigned to duty in the Far East, which allowed her to fulfill a dream becoming flight nurse. Lt. McClure was assigned to the 801st Airborne Evacuation Service and served as a flight nurse on a C-47 Skymaster transport stationed first at Tachikawa Air Base in Tokyo, then to Brady Air Base, southern Japan, before being flown to Korea for a 30-day temporary assignment on December 20, 1952. In a letter home, written December 21, the day before her death, she told of her arrival in Korea and described the nurses’ Quonset huts. Her assignment was to fly on the planes bringing the wounded from the forward areas back to the hospitals.
First Lieutenant Virginia May McClure was killed along with the eleven other occupants of their C-47 when it collided on the runway with a jet fighter plane on December 22, 1952, in South Korea. The body of Lt. McClure was returned to the United States and was buried next to her mother at Fontanelle Cemetery, Fontanelle, Iowa. Surviving her death was her father and her brother, Lucien McClure.
One colleague remembered that Virginia was kind to everyone she met and was generous to all. A superior officer wrote, “…her eagerness, attention to duty, and personality were of the very best, and it was a pleasure to have her under my command.”
Lieutenant Virginia May McClure was awarded the Air Medal, Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean War Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.
[Source: South Dakota Korean War Memorial - A portion of this biography was respectfully submitted to the South Dakota Veterans Memorial by Chantelle Rae Janke, 8th grade, Spearfish Middle School, Spearfish, South Dakota on May 11, 2004. Also, the American Battle Monuments Commission, SD National Guard Museum, and the January 1, 1953 issue of the Springfield Times provided information for this entry. Other material was found by the KWE online.]
Killed in a C-47 Skymaster crash, December 22, 1952.
Born on January 31, 1923, in Morgantown, West Virginia, Margaret was one of ten children born to Pasquel Perry (1889-1963) and Serafina Marra Perry. Margaret graduated from University High School and St. Mary's School of Nursing in Clarksburg. Before joining the Air Force, she was an employee of the General Hospital as a supervisor of the second floor hall and at one time was in charge of the maternity ward. She was also an industrial nurse at Heyden Chemical Corporation in Morgantown, West Virginia. She furthered her education at West Virginia University and Fairmont State, completing postgraduate work at the University of Chicago. She joined the Air Force in February 1950 and trained at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
After her commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, she attended a six-course program at military flight school in Montgomery, Alabama for training in air evacuation of wounded personnel. After that she was assigned to the 1453rd Squadron at Hickam Air Force in Hawaii. She flew numerous air evacuation flights from Korea to Guam, Japan, Hawaii, and mainland USA while serving in the Korean War with the 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron. She was nearing the end of her military commitment and was scheduled to ship back to the United States after completing her final mission from Suwon Airfield (K-13) in Korea on December 22, 1952. That day, because of confusion over takeoff instructions, the C-47 plane on which she was aboard collided with an F80C Shooting Star fighter. The C-47 was being flown by the Royal Hellenic Air Force. Both planes had been cleared for takeoff. When the two planes collided there was an explosion and nurses Margaret Fae Perry and Virginia May McClure were both killed, along with 11 others onboard.
Margaret Fae's siblings were brothers Sgt. Samuel Perry (KIA while serving with the 979th FAB in World War II), Martin A. Perry (1914-1993), Frank Perry (1919-2006), and Jack Perry, and sisters Teresa A. Perry (1917-2009), Pasqualyn Ann "Pat" Perry Peelish (1921-2011), Rose Perry Yedlosky, Mary Perry Baliker, and Virginia Perry Como (died 2013).
Killed in a C-47D Crash, Haneda, Japan, July 27, 1950.
Twenty-six persons were aboard a C-47D scheduled to fly from Haneda, Japan to Pusan, Korea on July 27, 1950. The aircraft took off about 4 a.m. and became airborne at 4:05 a.m. Sixteen minutes later the plane had difficulties and shortly thereafter the tail of the plane snapped off. The plane descended and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, sinking to a depth of about 1500m and causing 25 of those onboard to be lost at sea. There was one survivor, Sgt. Haru Sazaki. Army nurse Major Genevieve Smith was the only female among the fatalities.
Genevieve Marion Smith was born April 25, 1905 in Epworth, Iowa, daughter of Thomas Aphonaius Smith (1875-1947) and Mary Elizabeth Kennedy Smith (1874-1965). In addition to her mother, Major Smith was survived by siblings Mrs. Frank (Veronica) Dagenais, Mrs. Edwin (Catherine) Horsfield, Mrs. Alfred (Alice) Arensdorf, Joseph Smith and Thomas K. Smith.
Genevieve Smith graduated from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Dubuque, Iowa, on August 15, 1925, and joined the Army in 1928. After World War II she spent two years in Germany and then in October 1948 she was transferred to the Philippines. She was later transferred to Japan, where she was serving as chief nurse of the 155th Station Hospital in Yokohama, Japan when she was selected by General Douglas MacArthur to be chief nurse for Korea.
Although the former World War II Army nurse was due to retire in January 1951 after 22 years of military service, she accepted the position and sealed her destiny on a fatal air flight to Korea. On July 27, 1950, a three-man aircrew, twenty-two male passengers and one female--Genevieve Smith, left Haneda, Japan for a flight to Pusan, Korea in a C-47D. Less than a half hour later the plane veered to the right and flipped onto its back. The tail section broke off and the plane crashed into the ocean. There was only one survivor--saved because he was sucked out of the airplane and was able to pull his parachute ripcord before he lost unconsciousness. He was picked up out of the water by a Japanese fishing boat eight hours later. All others on the aircraft were lost at sea. [See A Few Good Women by Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee, pp. 252-253.]
Further information about Major Smith can be found in: A Concise Biography of Maj. Genevieve Marion Smith by Mrs. Genevieve Comeau, General Reference & Research Branch, Historical Unit, USAMEDS, Forest Glen Section, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, published in April of 1962.
Killed in a C-54G crash, November 28, 1952.
Major Marion Swang was born March 3, 1911, a daughter of Benjamin L. Swang Sr. (next of kin living in Porterville, California at the time of her death) and Harriet E. "Hattie" White Swang (1875-1936). She was the sister of Benjamin L. Swang Jr. (1915-1932). Her sister was Mrs. Arthur J. (Mildred Elenore Swang) Lorenz Sr. (1909-1985). Mildred and Marion were the granddaughters of Benjamin D. and Lena Swang of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. At the time of the aircraft accident, Marion was returning to the States from Alaska after having served at Ladd Air Force Base as assistant personnel officer for the 5001st Composite Wing since January 1951.
Marion Swang was supervisor of health and physical education at Watertown, Wisconsin and Rochelle, Illinois from 1936 to 1942. She attended LaCrosse State College and Peabody College for teachers in Nashville, Tennessee before she entered the Army Air Corps in August 1942 and attended officer candidate school in Des Moines, Iowa. She received instruction in personnel administration at Purdue University in 1945, and attended an air inspector's course at Craig Air Force Base in Alabama in 1950. In her post at Ladd AFB, she managed personnel activities, including career guidance, classification, assignment, promotion and separation, effectiveness rating and transfer for personnel at the air base. In 1952 she was named Military Woman of the Year at Ladd, and she was active in church work at the base. According to the Waukesha Daily Freeman newspaper (August 11, 1952), she was the niece of Mrs. Charles White Sr. of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. She was also related to Gordon B. Swang (1901-1954) of Porterville, California. Marion is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
*Marion Swang's name is incorrectly listed on casualty reports as "Marion E. Swann," and this incorrect spelling is also shown on her government tombstone.