ALASKA, USA — Few things remain of Charles Daugherty's older brother, Gail Daugherty: Some photographs, memories and a legacy.
Soon, Charles hopes to bring something more tangible home.
"Hopefully, we're gonna find some remains this time," said Charles. "Whether it be bones, metal parts, dog tags."
70 years after Gail's service plane crashed in an Alaskan glacier, U.S. Military personnel have boots on the ground searching for the remains of the 19 men on board.
"Get some closure on this thing after 70 years," said Charles. "We've been working on this for a long time."
Looking at a photo of U.S. military personnel in Alaska, Charles said it makes him happy to see them searching, but sad.
"Because we know there's something there, but we don't know what," said Charles. "It's hard. I mean, you go to bed at night and you pray. Just wondering well, what are they going to find tomorrow? What did they find today? We haven't heard, so when it comes to that day, that we can find something and get an answer, that'll make me happy."
On Nov. 7, 1952, Charles' brother, Gail Daugherty, along with 18 other servicemen, boarded a twin-engine C-119 Boxcar troop transport plane. It was supposed to be a two-hour flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
The plane's call letters were "Gamble Chalk 1."
The plane flew 30 miles off course. The pilot didn't know that a navigational map with a radio frequency was mislabeled. It unknowingly headed toward Mount Silverthrone in Alaska.
Around 3 a.m., the plane crashed into the ridge just below the peak of the mountain.
All 19 servicemen aboard the plane died. A few days later, a reconnaissance plane went out to search for Gamble Chalk 1. However, conditions on the mountain proved too dangerous for the search effort. The U.S. Air Force believed that if they had performed a recovery operation, more avalanches would likely be triggered.
Those 19 servicemen's remains were left behind.
70 years later, Charles and his family still have no remains of Gail.
Gail was not the only West Michigan native aboard Gamble Chalk 1. Raymond Housler, from the Muskegon area, also lost his life that day in 1952.
"The day always stands out very much for me because he passed away on his 22nd birthday," said Donna Rieckmann, Housler's sister. "So, November 7, this year, he would have been 93."
Donna said she is the only one left alive in her family who knew Raymond. She knows it may take a while to find something, but she is hopeful it will be in her lifetime.
"Servicemen that were killed in the United States at the time were not recognized like heroes from overseas wars," said Rieckmann. "It's just like, well, it happened and it happened."
But she says, "They were heroes to us."
In 2016, a retired glaciologist and pilot from Alaska, Michael Rocereta, put his skills to the test. He flew a plane to the Eldridge Glacier to take photos.
After lengthy research, Rocereta found debris from Gamble Chalk 1 scattered over the glacier.
The Daugherty family began working with an advocate named Tonja Anderson-Dell. She has a non-profit called Honored Bound, which helps families like the Daugherty family find closure from operational loss.
"Operational loss, meaning after the initial search, they're going from duty station to duty station, or non-war loss," said Anderson-Dell. "There is no agency within our government that looks for them."
After 13 ON YOUR SIDE's original story aired in 2020, local U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga (R-Holland Township) chose to act on behalf of the victim's families.
He revealed an amendment to a bill that would direct the Air Force to give an official report to finding out a recovery plan.
On Sept. 23, 2021, the U.S. House voted to approve a bipartisan defense policy bill that would require the Air Force to report on its plans and timeline for recovering Gamble Chalk 1.
In August 2022, the assessment has finally begun to start searching for remains in the summer of 2023.
Anderson-Dell called the moment a "promise kept," referring to the general of the Alaskan base who promised they would get boots on the ground looking for the servicemen's remains.
Now, those boots are on the ground, searching for those lost souls. Due to weather in that portion of Alaska, there is only a small, few-week window every year to search. If the search continues, it could possibly take years to find anything.
"Our government is supposed to take care of our our soldiers," said Charles. "We have that saying, 'No one left behind.' So, we hope they carry through with that."
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