Madison County Montana

Magee, Patrick Joseph
Army Specialist 6

Patrick Joseph Magee, age 24, from Montana, Madison county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, January 3, 1971
Death details: On January 3, 1971, a U-6A Beaver (tail number 52-2584) took off carrying a pilot and six passengers on an administrative support flight from Qui Nhon to Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam. The flight was over mountainous terrain and flown in inclement weather. Radar contact was lost with the aircraft fourteen miles southeast of Phu Cat, South Vietnam, in the vicinity of (GC) BR 960 250, and the U-6A never reached Ban Me Thuot. Attempts to locate the aircraft, pilot, or any of the passengers following the disappearance were unsuccessful. Specialist 6 Patrick Joseph Magee entered the U.S. Army from Montana and was a member of the 61st Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade. He was a passenger on board this U-6A when it was lost, and remains unaccounted for. Today, Specialist 6 Magee is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Gray, Simpson B.
Army Sergeant

Simpson B. Gray, age 21, from Madison County Montana.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, May 20, 1944
Death details: On May 20, 1944, a B-17 Flying Fortress, serial number 42-97176, with a crew of ten departed Rattlesden, Suffolk, England for a bombing mission against enemy targets around Liege, Belgium. Approximately halfway across the English Channel, the crew noticed the right wing of the B-17 was on fire. The aircraft dropped its bomb load in the Channel and bailed out of the aircraft before it crashed into the water. The air rescue squadron called to the scene found two crew members alive, and the body of a third in the water. Seven crew members were missing and presumed drowned. Sgt. Simpson B. Gray, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from New Mexico, served with the 710th Bombardment Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy). He was the ball turret gunner aboard the B-17 when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Gray is memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in England. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Jefferson Valley News (1946

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