[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 73 (Monday, June 6, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BAKERS CREEK TRAGEDY

  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to offer remarks on the 
tragedy that occurred on June 14, 1943 at Bakers Creek, Australia. On 
that day, 40 members of the U.S. Armed Forces, six of whom were from 
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, lost their lives when the B-17C 
Flying Fortress airplane that they were flying in crashed at Bakers 
Creek, Australia. This tragedy marked the worst aviation disaster of 
the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II.
  I understand that at approximately 6 a.m. on June 14, 1943, the B-17C 
Flying Fortress transporting six crew members and thirty-five soldiers 
that were returning from leave in Australia departed from Mackay 
Airport in Bakers Creek for Port Moresby, when shortly after takeoff, 
the plane lost altitude and subsequently crashed. The sole survivor of 
this crash was Corporal Foye Kenneth Roberts of Wichita Falls, Texas.
  This June will mark the 62nd anniversary of the Bakers Creek crash. I 
applaud the work of Dr. Robert S. Cutler and the Bakers Creek Memorial 
Association for their research and tireless dedication to ensuring that 
the memory of those who perished at Bakers Creek, Australia in 1943 
never be forgotten.

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