[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 95 (Monday, June 15, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BAKERS CREEK TRAGEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SCOTT PERRY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 15, 2015

  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I have sought recognition today to honor the 
forty American soldiers who tragically perished at Bakers Creek, 
Queensland, Australia, June 14, 1943, during World War II.
  Their deaths came as a result of the crash of a B-17C Flying 
Fortress, which proved to be the worst aviation disaster of the 
Southwest Pacific war. More men died on that plane from my home state 
of Pennsylvania--six--than from any other State. The six men were: Pvt. 
James E. Finney, from Erie; T/Sgt. Alfred H. Frezza, from Altoona; Sgt. 
Donald B. Kyper, from Huntingdon; Pfc. Frank S. Penska, from Moscow; 
Sgt. Anthony Rudnick, from Philadelphia; and Cpl. Raymond H. Smith, 
from Oil City.
  Only recently has Congress officially recognized the previously 
classified wartime accident. As a result, most of the crash victims' 
families were left in the dark about the specifics surrounding their 
loved ones' deaths in World War II.
  Five years ago, many of my Congressional colleagues actively 
supported efforts to place a memorial monument in Arlington. Moreover, 
in June 2008, the Pennsylvania State Legislature passed a resolution 
designating June 14th as ``Bakers Creek Memorial Day.''
  The monument, dedicated at Selfridge Gate entrance to Arlington 
National Cemetery on June 12, 2009 by the Secretary of the Army, honors 
the sole survivor and the 40 members of the Army Air Corps who lost 
their lives when a B-17C Flying Fortress crashed soon after take-off 
The men were being returned to combat in the Papua New Guinea Campaign 
following 10-days of R&R at the American Red Cross Center located at 
the seaside City of Mackay on the northeast coast of Australia. The 
aircraft, a bomber converted to transport service, was operated by the 
46th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 317th Troop Carried Group which was 
a part of the U.S. Fifth Air Force.
  I understand that today, COL Michael D. Henderson, Garrison Commander 
of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Honorable Kim C. Beazley, Australian 
Ambassador to the United States, and retired Fifth Air Force Commander, 
General Ralph E. Eberhart, USAF (Ret.) plan to place a wreath at the 
Bakers Creek Memorial to commemorate the 72nd Anniversary of the crash.
  I applaud the military service members at JBM-HH and the members of 
the Bakers Creek Memorial Association for their continued efforts to 
help bring closure to the casualty families and a public remembrance of 
the forty American servicemen who perished at Bakers Creek in Australia 
during World War II.

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