Alvin Earl Jr. Crane from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, September 13, 1951
Death details: On August 22, 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of First Lieutenant Alvin Earl Crane Jr., missing from the Korean War. First Lieutenant Crane joined the U.S. Air Force from California and was a member of the 6148th Tactical Control Squadron. On September 13, 1951, he took off from Pyongtaek Air Base, South Korea, piloting a T-6F Mosquito (serial number unavailable) along with one other crew member on a mission to direct air strikes against enemy ground targets northeast of Kaesong, North Korea. After successfully directing four U.S. fighters to enemy targets, 1st Lt Crane’s T-6F was shot down by enemy fire. One parachute was seen to emerge from the aircraft before it crashed in Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Enemy activity in the area prevented immediate search-and-rescue attempts. U.N. forces were eventually able to locate the crash site, where they recovered remains which were identified as the observer who served on board this Mosquito. No sign of 1st Lt Crane or his remains could be found at the site. No further information regarding the loss of 1st Lt Crane was ever received. In May 1990, the North Korean government repatriated to the United States human remains that were allegedly associated with a U.S. serviceman killed in Hwanghae Province. Forensic analysis eventually allowed these returned remains to be identified as those of 1st Lt Crane. First Lieutenant Crane is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency