Arthur Burton Barrows

On 16 August 1942, Captain Arthur Barrows – recently detached as the CO of the Marines aboard light cruiser USS St. Louis – boarded a Navy R4D-1 transport at Kodiak, Alaska. The plane was bound for Seattle, where Barrows would spend a few days with his wife before reporting to San Francisco.

The weather that day was, in the words of the pilots, “stinkin'” – with visibility so poor that the end of the Kodiak runway was barely visible on takeoff. Three planes departed in loose formation and flew on instruments over the Gulf of Alaska towards Annette Island. Conditions at Annette were too poor to land, so the flight diverted to Yakutat and head inland, hoping for a clear landing site.

The lead plane – R4D-1 01989, piloted by LTCDR Jerome Sparboe – was last seen during a break in the weather over the southern tip of the Yakutat mountains. Storm-like conditions separated the planes, cutting off radio communications and depositing heavy ice on the wings. One transport landed safely in Whitehorse; the other at Watson Lake. Sparboe’s plane never arrived. Fourteen officers – including Barrows – were reported missing.

Despite intense searches, no trace of the wreckage could be located. Barrows was promoted to major while in missing status; he was ultimately declared dead on 17 August 1943.