Moses Lake 1953 Christmas Crash

On December 20, 1953, a U.S. military transport plane carrying 87 American soldiers home from the Korean War crashed near Moses Lake, Washington, killing everyone on board. The men were on a Christmas flight back to the United States after serving in a brutal conflict, but their journey ended in a frozen field instead of at family homes. For decades, their sacrifice drew little public attention and no national monument. It took about 60 years before local efforts finally produced a memorial to honor the 87 soldiers who died on that overlooked flight.

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