COLUMBIA FALLS, Me. -The military passengers and crew of Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 will be remembered and honored with the unveiling of a monument dedicated to ensuring their service and sacrifice are remembered.
After 59 years, surviving family members from all over the country have been invited to meet, and share in this commemorative event on Saturday, May 15 at 11 a.m. EST at the Worcester Wreath Company’s balsam tip land, in Columbia Falls, Maine.
Morrill Worcester, founder of Wreaths Across America, decided to build the monument on his land to honor those on Flying Tiger Line Flight 739.
Wreaths Across America held a groundbreaking ceremony in July for the monument, which is located where the brush is harvested every year to make veterans’ remembrance wreaths to be placed on military headstones. The monument will have the names of everyone on Flight 739 and their names will be read at the unveiling.
Watch Live on Wreaths Across America’s Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/365214864851670
Listen LIVE on Wreaths Across America Radio, via the free iHeart Radio app: https://www.iheart.com/live/wreaths-across-america-radio-8845/
Attending will be:
- Karen Worcester, Executive Director of Wreaths Across America
- Morrill Worcester, Founder of Wreaths Across America and
- Wayne Hanson, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Vietnam Veteran
- Families of Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 passengers and crew
- State and Federal Representatives
- Local dignitaries and veterans
About Flying Tiger Line Flight 739
On March 16, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 was on a top-secret mission headed toward Vietnam, but disappeared. There were 93 US soldiers on board, 11 crew members, and three South Vietnamese soldiers.
The Flying Tiger Line was the first all-cargo airline in the US, according to Flying Tigers Club. It also chartered flights for military personnel.
Very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. The Department of Defense has told family members those on Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 couldn’t have their names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial because they weren’t in a combat zone when they went missing.
However, on May 15th, the families and loved ones of these heroes will gather in Columbia Falls, Maine, to be present for the unveiling of a new monument dedicated to their sacrifices and heroism. This is the first time that many of these families have met one another to share their stories and experiences stemming from that fateful day.
About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at more than 2,500 veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and overseas.
