  Mechanicsburg High School - 1939 Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania From Gene Banning's list of 8/31/00: "Samuel Anglin, Jr. 11/42 (PAA Africa); prom to capt 4/43, killed in crash over Hump 8/11/43, Plane #48." Doing lots of searching using Ancestry.com and whitepages.com I hit many dead ends, but then on Monday 4/16/2018, I received the following e-mail from one of Sam's nieces: "Hi Tom, My name is LuAnn Cocklin-Ferguson and I am in receipt of your letter dated 02-27-18 via a most circuitous route as Sam's sister, my mother, passed away 12-29-17 and your letter was forwarded to my brother in GA before he was able to place it in my hands earlier today. Needless to say, I was very excited about your letter when he first mentioned he had received it the Friday after Easter as I have been trying to learn more about the circumstances of our uncle's disappearance. There happened to be a Lot going on with the Anglin family in 1943 and, unfortunately, my mother only got bits and pieces of information regarding her brother once my grandfather and my uncle's widow received initial notice of his death. There had been several versions of the circumstances of the crash bandied about given pieces of the downed aircraft were found but no bodies were ever recovered. Mom always held out hope that Sam had actually survived and would return home one day. She also worried that he might have been taken captive if he had survived as it had been indicated that the plane had gone down "behind enemy lines" and no rescue efforts were made. Locals were afraid to assist or provide information due to the presence of enemy troops. It was monsoon season and the plane was washed away. Animals got to the bodies before a search party could reach them. I think you get the picture. I have been to the CNAC.org site and have recently been in contact with the folks at the Freedom of Information Act Archives (FOIA) who further referred me to the Dept. of State as well as to the National Archives. Progress had to temporarily be moved to the back burner in order to help my brother settle Mom's estate. Now that the bulk of that project appears to be behind us, I am ready to get back to work on following up on the FOIA referrals. So, the timing of your letter couldn't be more perfect. I hope this message finds you well and will be looking forward to hearing back from you soon to learn more about how I might be of further assistance to you. And, possibly vice versa. Warm regards, LuAnn wefergies1@gmail.com" Tuesday 4/17/2020 -- And the story starts to move... "Hi Tom, Per our conversation earlier today, I am attaching my favorite picture and a few documents pertaining to my Uncle Sam. Please let me know if my attempts at sharing this information have been of any benefit to you. Enjoyed talking with you. Best regards, LuAnn  Sam Africa-India1942-1943 larger version Newspaper Article about Sam's promotion to Captain Letter from Sam to newspaper; September 9, 1942 Letter To Sam's father about accident; August 27, 1943 Three responses to Sam's parents about Sam missing; August and September 1943 Handwritten letter To Sam's father about accident from H. M. Bixby Letter To Sam's father about accident; January 22, 1944 Newspaper article about Sam's death; February 17,1944  or would like to be added to the CNAC e-mail distribution list, please let the CNAC Web Editor know. Thanks! |
