(WXMI) — There are families across the country hoping that recently proposed legislation will bring recognition to their loved ones who died while serving our country.
For decades now, if a military member died in a non-combat plane crash, they weren’t afforded the same treatment as those killed in action. But these families, including a family I met here in West Michigan, hope this new potential bill will bring new honor.
This act is called the Flight 293 Remembrance Act, led by United States Senator Patty Murray. It would require that the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) create a publicly accessible database documenting all non-combat military plane crashes, and ensure the safe keeping of the names, ranks, and service details of the service men and women who have died. It also directs the DoD to provide resources for families of military men and women who have been classified as “Missing Not in Action,” including those who died in the 1963 Flight 293 from McChord Air Force Base to Elmendorf Air Force Base.
The legislation is endorsed by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), National Military Family Association (NMFA), and Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors (TAPS).
One woman, Tonja Anderson-Dell, kick-started much of this "Missing Not in Action" search, leaving a West Michigan family hopeful for closure, 73 years after their brother’s death.
“We got the telegram on my birthday, November 1, that they were missing in action,” said Claudette Bethke.
In 1952, at just 12 years old, Bethke got word her older brother, Gail Daugherty, died in a non-combat military plane crash in Alaska. “The airplane was on their last maneuvers before coming home," Bethke said. "It was called Operation Warm Wind, and it hit a mountain.”
All these years later, at age 84, Bethke is still seeking answers. “I’ve been fighting a long time,” Bethke said.
Bethke and her brother, Charles Daugherty, are the only two siblings left of eight, working to honor Gail’s legacy. “We've been trying to get answers from the government, which we never got a decent answer,” Daugherty said.
Bethke and Daugherty want to see the Flight 293 Remembrance Act passed. “I’m hoping this act goes through to bring home, not just my brother and his friends on the airplane, but all the other airplanes that crashed in Alaska,” Bethke said.
“I’m hoping I can see it passed and get some results before I die,” Daugherty adds.
Anderson-Dell has played a big part in all of this. “This act will create a database, bring awareness, and also make Congress look for us in all of this,” Anderson-Dell said.
Anderson-Dell is also the founder of Honored Bound. “My role in all this is that I'm honored and bound to make sure that our government holds true to and never leaves our fallen behind,” Anderson-Dell said.
After her grandpa’s plane also went missing in 1952, Anderson-Dell began looking for missing military planes herself. “Not only do I fight, I also look. I can't tell the military, ‘Hey, you need to look for these' without actually doing it myself," Anderson-Dell said.
Both planes that went missing in 1952 were found. Gail's plane, Gamble Chalk 1, was found by Michael Rocereta in 2016, and Anderson-Dell was among those to get boots on the ground. “Our government said that we never leave our fallen behind, and you're leaving this pool of service members behind, and I want you guys to hold to it,” Anderson-Dell said.
Bethke and Daugherty are hopeful that this bill will pass, and that their brother will not be left behind. “I was in the service myself, and the word is no man left behind," Daugherty said. "Well, they were servicemen.”
“If we could get something of my brother’s, that would be closure," Bethke adds.
According to Anderson-Dell, the Flight 293 Remembrance Act has not yet been passed. It was filed earlier this month and is making its way through Congress.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
