Missing in Action: The Accra WACs
Special Orders 147 directed the transfer of 67 WACs to the 1400th Army Air Forces Base Unit in June of 1945. Eighteen of those women would become Missing in Action after their plane crashed in route.
The Crash
As operations in North Africa came to an end, the WACs of the 1202d were given the option of returning to the United States or transfering to the 1400th Army Air Forces Base Unit in London, England. Sixty-seven of the women choose to continue their service in Europe. Four planes took off from Accra on 30 May 1945, but only three made it to the meeting point at Roberts Army Air Field in Liberia. The third plane, carrying 18 of the 67 WACs and three crewmembers, took off from Accra at 7:08am. The crew radioed in at the first check point at 7:55am, but at 9:20am Roberts Field picked up maydays from the aircraft. The distress signal could be heard for five minutes before contact was lost. An immediate search was launched off what is now Cote D'Ivoire, in the presumed area of the crash, which continued for over a week, but no sign of the aircraft was ever found. All 21 aboard are listed as Missing in Action (MIA) to this day and can be found on the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency database. During World War II, this was the largest loss of WAC life in one event. Of the 27 women still listed as Missing in Action from World War II on the database, those 18 lost in this crash account for two-thirds.
