Earl was killed near Anchorage, Alaska in the crash of a C-47 Air Force plane. News concerning this sad event were published in the following articles of the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper:
Sunday, February 7, 1954:CINCINNATIAN IN PLANE CRASH - AIR FORCE JET PILOT MAY BE ONE OF THE SURVIVORS SIGHTED IN ALASKA
A Cincinnati pilot was aboard the Air Force C-47 which crashed late Friday near Anchorage, Alaska, his parents learned last night in a telegram from the Air Force. Hope for his safety continued when it was reported that three of the plane's 16 passengers had been rescued. None of the survivors was identified immediately.
The Cincinnatian is Ist Lt. Earl Betscher Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Betscher, 7973 Keller Road. Lt. Betscher, a former University of Cincinnati student, had been in the Air Force since 1948. He had been stationed at the Elmendorf Air Force Base since August 1982, and is chief of the jet maintenance section there.
An Associated Press dispatch said three survivors were found "in good condition" by two bush pilots and an Air Force surgeon last night. They were found about 15 miles from the site of the crash, in the rugged foot hills of Mt. McKinley, 78 miles northeast of Anchorage. It was not known whether they had parachuted to safety or walked to the point.
The dispatch also said two other survivors were sighted from the air at the plane wreckage. Near blizzard conditions hindered rescue operations.
The plane, on a routine training flight from Elmendorf to Ladd Air Force Base when it crashed, carried besides the Cincinnati ooficer, two Army officers, 11 other Air Force men and a three-man Air Force crew. It was unknown whether Lt. Betscher was flying as a crew member or a passenger.
Monday, February 8, 1954:
SIX MEN FLOWN TO SAFETY FROM ALASKA AIR CRASH BUT CINCINNATI PILOT IS NOT ON LIST
Six men who parachuted from an explosion-ripped Air Force transport near Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, were flown to nearby Elmendorf Air Force yesterday, but officials did not say whether the Cincinnati pilot aboard was one of the survivors.
The Cincinnati pilot, Ist Lt. Earl Betscher Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Betscher, 7973 Keller Rd., was reported to be among 16 persons aboard the twin-engine C-47 when it exploded on a routine flight between Elmendorf and Ladd Air Base at Fairbanks.
An Air Force-manned helicopter and a bush pilot flew two of the suvivors to the settlement of Taikkeetna and four to Curry, a town on the Alaska Railroad line about 125 miles north of Anchorage, near Mt. McKinley. Rescue headquarters had been set up at Curry.
The first two survivors to reach Elmendorf Hospital were identified as Airman 1/c Bobby G. Sallis, 21, West Nellena, Ark., and Airman 2/c Eli R. LeDuke, 20, Ausable Forks, N.Y. Hospital authorities said they were treated for shock and exposure and neither was able to relate his ordeal.
However, Cliff Hudson, a bush pilot who first spotted the wreckage, said the survivors told him they were lying on the floor of the plane when an explosion ripped open the fuselage and hurled them out and clear. They could not explain the blast; nor could they tell what happened to the others aboard.
The aircraft smashed into the snow-blanketed wilderness 75 miles northeast of Anchorage, 15 miles from Curry. Weather was reported to be poor, hampering the two helicopters and five airplanes from Elmendorf. Deep snow and the mountainous terrain held up an Air Force land party. Maj. Carl M. Russell, wing surgeon at Elmendorf, was flown in to the scene Saturday and passed the night with the survivors when the weather ended rescue operations for the day.
Saturday, February 13, 1954:AIR CRASH FATAL TO CINCINNATIAN, PARENTS LEARN
The parents of Ist Lt Earl Betscher Jr. learned yesterday that their son died Febrary 5 in the crash of a twin-engine C-47 on a routine flight between Air Force bases in Alaska. The plane crashed in a heavily wooded area 75 miles northeast of Anchorage, 15 miles from Curry, Alaska.
No definite word of the late 28-year-old Air Force pilot had been obtained until Mr. and Mrs. Betscher, 7973 Keller Rd., received a Defense Department telegram yesterday afternoon.
The message gave no details but said a letter containing full information about the officer's death was being forwarded.
Lt. Betscher was among 16 persons aboard the aircraft. Reports from 6 survivors indicated that a mid-air explosion took place. They say that they were blown clear of the plane prior to the crash. A rescue team, hampereed by deep snow and bad weather, reached the scene of the crash Monday and reported the finding of two bodies.
Ist Lt. betscher, who was participating in a training exercise, had been an Air Force pilot since 1948.
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The Alaska Veterans Memorial
"We dedicate this place to the remembrance of the veterans of Alaska who have served their country at home and throughout the world. We honor their heroism and dedication."
At Mile 147.2 of the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks is a memorial that is beautifully designed to complement its setting, which is itself an important part of the memorial's statement. For travelers, the memorial provides both a refreshing stop along the highway, and an important insight into Alaska's history
Outside the Visitors' Center adjacent to the memorial are several interpretive signs that describe the role of the military in the Bering Sea during the Civil War, and Alaska's World War II and Cold War military history. One of the other panels describes the 1954 rescue of the survivors of a plane crash, by Alaskan bush pilot Cliff Hudson. The C-47 broke up in mid-air enroute from Fairbanks to Anchorage, falling on Kesugi Ridge about 14 miles from the memorial. Ten crew members and passengers were killed, while six others survived. Those still living in 1998, and families of the victims, climbed the ridge and located the site of the wreckage, which had not been disturbed since the rescue. The family members paid for a monument honoring the victims and survivors, and established a fund for the perpetual maintenance of it. The monument, of which two views are seen below, was dedicated in July 1998.
(http://www.explorenorth.com/articles/akvetmem.htm)
(Note: Plaque indicates "Capt Earl L. Betscher" - no doubt a promotion for Earl posthumously)
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1. Michael Betscher (1793-1861)
2. Louis G. Betscher (1830-1918)
3. Earl L. Betscher (1897-1961)
4. Earl L. Betscher, Jr. (1925-1954)
2. Louis G. Betscher (1830-1918)
3. Earl L. Betscher (1897-1961)
4. Earl L. Betscher, Jr. (1925-1954)
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