MEMBERS of the 31st Infantry Battalion Association and the Ingham community paid their annual tribute to the 12 United States airmen who died on December 18, 1942, when their B24D Liberator bomber crashed off Hinchinbrook Island.
Also in attendance were visitors from Townsville, Ayr, Charters Towers and Mareeba.
The aircraft, code-named the “Texas Terror,” was on a mission to Papua-New Guinea when it crashed.
The Ingham community erected a memorial plaque in 1999, and a local committee has worked earnestly over the years to ensure this part of Ingham’s military history will not be forgotten.
The pilot of the “Texas Terror,” Colonel Carrol Riggs, affectionately known as ‘Chi Chi,’ died in 2012 at the age of 104 years and seven months.
During the memorial service, president Felix Reitano welcomed a special guest, Mrs Joyce Ratray, who helped forward dog tags back to the next-of-kin of a deceased crew member, Michael Goldstop, in Yorktown, USA.
Also present was Mr. Michael Musumeci, who gave a presentation about air crashes in North Queensland during World War 2.
Planning is under way for next year’s ceremony, which will mark the 75th anniversary of the crash.