Captain Kenneth James Duvall

Captain Kenneth James Duvall, USAF
It took over 60 years for the glacier to melt and the United States Force Air Force to locate and begin recovery efforts of the giant aircraft . The Koren War Educator reported, "On November 22, 1952 a C124 Globemaster crashed into Knik Glacier east of Anchorage Alaska, killing all 52 service members on board. When the plane went down, the weather was brutal. The crew were flying blind, using their altimeter, a stopwatch, and a radio signal. As they flew above the Chugah Mountains, the massive C124 Globemaster suffered a malfunction and began losing altitude. The plane, "Old Shaky," plowed into the mountain at full speed." Debris from the crash was covered by snow and ice before recovery could begin. The scattered wreckage has been slowly moving with the melting glacier.

On June 10, 2012 the wreckage was spotted 12 miles from the crash site. Recovery and identification efforts by the Air Force continue today. The captain, Kenneth James Duvall, 37 at the time, was a native of San Francisco, and a 1934 graduate of Vallejo (CA) High School. He resided with his aunt, Sadie Lou, in Litchfield while attending Arizona State College with his brothers, Claude and Allan. Ken graduated with a degree in accounting in 1939. He entered the infantry in 1941, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He transferred to the Air Force and attended Officers Candidate School. He distinguished himself as a B17 bomber pilot, completing his 25th mission one week before the Normandy invasion. He returned to the US and flew transport missions between Florida and Cuba.

Discharged in 1946, he rejoined the Air Force in 1948 and flew the Berlin Airlift for a year. He returned to civilian life to resume a career in accounting when he was recalled to active duty in 1950, shortly before the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. Captain Duvall was assigned to McChord Field to fly the giant Globemaster, the world's largest transport plane.

The US Air Force recently recovered and returned Captain Duvall's identification tags to his sole survivor, his niece, Debra, who resides in Mesa.

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