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Their Impact Continues...and So Does the Search

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WACs in the 1400th Army Air Forces Base Unit in London, England, 1945. These women were on the other three planes which made it safely to their destination on 30 May 1945. They waited hours for news of the third plane at the meeting point before having to continue on their journey.

Their Impact Continues...and So Does the Search

Forty-nine of the original sixty-seven WACs traveled safely to London, England and their new assignment.  They continued on in their work with the Air Transport Command, beginning to rebuild in Europe and keeping the war effort moving in the Pacific. Though they carried on the mission, they lived with the trauma of losing colleagues and friends for the rest of their lives. As she prepared for a WAC reunion in 1984, Kay Wiest recalled the Accra crash, stating "all were friends of hers; all died." 

The loss of so many at once was a tragedy, but with no sign of the aircraft since, there has been no closure. As the search for the missing aircraft continues, we hope that one day closure can be offered to the families of those 21 who gave their lives in service.

In Memoriam

Sgt. Doris Cooper; Champaign, Illinois
Cpl. Velma Holden; Asheville, North Carolina
Pfc. Rose Brohinsky; New York City, New York
Pfc. Flossie De Leone Flannery; Muncie, Indiana
Pfc. Frieda Blanck Friend; Brooklyn, New York
Pfc. Mary Gollinger; San Francisco, California
Pfc. Odessa Hollingsworth; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Pfc. Alice Dana King; Oswego, Oregon
Pfc. Wilma Liles; Dallas, Texas
Pfc. Evelyn McBride; Austin, Texas
Pfc. Alice McKinney; Big Bay, Michigan
Pfc. Rose Puchalla; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Pfc. Mildred Rice; Kansas City, Kansas
Pfc. Helen Rozzelle; Washington, D.C.
Pfc. Leona Seyfert; Chicago, Illinois
Pfc. Ruth Warlick; Fort Worth, Texas
Pfc. Bonnie Williams; Geuda Springs, Kansas
Pvt. Pearl Roomsburg; Los Angeles, California
1st Lt. Alfred Ellis; Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Flight Officer Robert Mulhern; Boston, Massachusetts
Cpl. George Shiffman; Cleveland Heights, Ohio
 
We remember them.

1400 AAF BU WACs from Accra

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