Memorial Cache - Captain Maurice F. Graham Traditional Cache
mojave_rattler: letting this one go
Memorial Cache - Captain Maurice F. Graham
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This is the first cache in hopefully a series of caches at memorial sites dedicated to individuals who have served in the military of the United States of America. This cache was placed on Memorial day 2012.
To some people Memorial Day weekend is simply a three day weekend and a reason to fire up the BBQ. But to others there is a more important thing to do on this three day weekend. That is to remember all those brave men and women that have given their lives so that the United States of American can sustain its freedom and way of life.
At this site is a pluaqe dedicated to one American hero by the name of Maurice Francis Graham.
Captain Maurice Francis Graham was a hero of World War I and pioneering airmail pilot. He is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of American serviceman of the ''Lost Battalion'' when their unit was overrun by German ground forces in the Argonne Forest in 1918. Captain Graham was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross [DFC] and the French Legion of Honor. After the war he co-founded the Western Air Service and was considered by many to be the world's foremost weather capable airmail pilot. On January 10 1930, he departed with the mail from Los Angeles enroute to Salt Lake City and flew into a heavy snow storm. After missing his arrival time an extensitive search began by the U.S Army Air Corps and U.S Mail Service with no results. On June 24, 1930, his plane was located without him and further investigation revealed the airplane to have minimial damage and still contained fuel in the tank. This lead investigators to believe he landed the plane deliberately do to the weather conditions. A new search was conducted and three weeks later his remains were found about six miles from his plane. Interesting to note is that the securities mailbag was recovered from his person and additional mail was recovered from the plane. To this day the mail recovered from the plane continues to be sold by collectors.
Additional Hints
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