Pilot  2nd Lt. William R. Gamber, 23 (Fayette, Ohio) (KIA)
Passenger  John M. Mortenson, 23 (Moscow, Idaho) (KIA)
Passenger  Ernest G. Munn, 23, (St. Clairesville, Ohio) (KIA)
Passenger  Leo M. Mustonen, 22 (Brainerd, MN) (KIA)
Crashed  November 18, 1942

Mission History
Took off at 8:30am from Mather Field in Sacramento on a training flight bound for Corning in Tehama County to the north. On boad was pilot Gambe and three student cadets.

The aircraft had five hours of fuel. There was no contact with the plane during the flight, and a futile search began at 1:30pm and lasted for a month. No trace of the plane was ever found.

Once upon a time, in 1942, US Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William Gamber departed Sacramento, CA on a routine training flight. The pilot and his three student aviation cadets were never seen again.

Wreckage found in 1947 in a remote area of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks was confirmed as belonging to Lt. Gamber's plane a Beech 18 AT-7 #41-21079. A 1948 recovery team lead by Captain Roy Sulzbacher returned empty-handed. Everything was forgotten until October, 2005, when climbers found the mummified body of an aviator embedded within Mendel Glacier. Five months later the "Ice Man" was identified as Leo Mustonen, one of Lt. Gamber's cadets and the story was forgotten again.

Wreckage
In fact, the plane had crashed more than 200 miles south in Kings Canyon National Park. Wreckage found in 1947 in a remote area of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks was found by Sierra Club member William Bond while hiking.

Officials did not investigate the site until 1948. They found a tag on one of the plane's engines, which led them to identify the aircraft. Whatever remains they found were buried in a single plot at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno. The names of all four airmen are listed at the grave.

Leo Mustonen Body found in Glacier
A glacier-entombed corpse in a World War II flight suit was found by hikers in October 2005. Investigated by JPAC in late October 2005. News stories Sign On San Diego | ABC News | CBS Affilate / UPN 31 (Video Clip) | LA Times The airmen was identified by DNA to be Leo M. Mustonen, who had not been found during the 1948 search.

In 2007, about 100 feet from where Mustonen's body was found, researcher Peter Stekel discovered the remains of a second man emerging from a melting glacier. Two hikers found the frozen remains of a man with blond, wavy hair A tattered sweater still clung to the body, and an unopened parachute lay nearby.

On March 10, 2008 the US military confirmed by DNA test these remains belonged to Ernest G. Munn. Munn is expected to be buried in May in Colerain, Ohio. Frozen remains of WWII airman identified (CNN / March 11, 2008)

References
Final Flight (forthcoming book) by Peter Stekel

Contribute Information