Breaking News, 3 Nov 2015.
Incredible! Look what I found!
Last week I walked in circles. Paced the kitchen, my head evacuated of why I was in the room. Made that famous non-stop Energizer Bunny envious of me!
Crew Manifests
I had stumbled on a valuable data source. Crew Manifests. First, I found just one. Then I learned how to “mine” my source, Ancestry, for more. Now I have five. Each reports a RETURN flight from the UNRRA war relief cargo destination.
In 1946 Veterans Air Express made historic flights contracted by UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). Flights to Warsaw, Prague and Athens! As of this moment, I believe only one other manifest is missing. (Unfortunately, Jack Stettner, it’s your May 8th-13th 1946 flight to Warsaw. But I’ll keep after it!!)
Review five of the six Manifests.1
Or you can get background stories for each Manifest.2
Broughton. Martz. Cowart.
In the order of being discovered…
The information on those five Manifests filled in specific details about crew members we had already “found,” but about whom little was known. Plus, named crew totally unknown to that point.
- The two sons of Richard N. Broughton, Craig and Robert Broughton were surprised to hear from me.4 Their dad was 1st Officer/Copilot on three UNRRA flights and 2nd Officer/relief Co-pilot on the UNRRA flight shown in this Post.
- Edward Martz, Navigation Officer on one UNRRA flight and 2nd Navigator on two other UNRRA flights.Ed lives in New Jersey with his wife.5
- Thomas Cowart, Flight Engineer on four UNRRA flights. Thomas lives in South Carolina near his two daughters.6
All three men served on the same crew for two flights to Prague and one to Warsaw. And Dick Broughton flew as 1st Officer with Thomas Cowart as Flight Engineer on the only UNRRA flight to Athens. This kind of cross referencing adds further viability to the events.
We interrupt for Breaking News…
Ed Martz and I just spent 45 minutes on the phone! With phenomenal and effortless recall, he told me about … Dick Broughton’s service history … how “a little old guy who had influence in the Truman administration” helped them procure their first DC-4 and UNRRA contract … Czech opera singer Novotna christening the DC-4 … the fate of the GAYE LYN … Carol Landis, the movie star, who christened the Company’s second DC-4.7
And Ed told me my Dad, Saunie, was “Smart. Nice guy. Had enough sense to keep it going.”
To be continued…
So sorry, but I’m out of time for today!