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Memorial Day at Mt. Rainier: ‘The Flight Has Ended, They Are Now In Thy Keeping’

On December 10, 1946, a United States Marine Corps Curtiss Commando transport plane carrying 32 Marines crashed into the South Tahoma Glacier on Mt. Rainier while flying from San Diego to Seattle during a severe storm.
The Navy concluded the plane was flying 180 mph when an undetected wind shift knocked it off course; bad weather and icing forced the pilot to rely on instruments as search parties faced the "worst storm conditions in a decade."
Assistant Chief Ranger Bill Butler spotted wreckage on July 21, 1947, at the 10,500-foot level, revealing 11 bodies initially; on August 22, mountaineers discovered 14 more bodies wedged in a crevasse.
Families established the Marine Memorial at Round Pass with a bronze plaque inscribed, "The Flight Has Ended, They Are Now In Thy Keeping," and a replica was later installed at Veterans Memorial Park in Enumclaw.
According to the National Park Service, visitors can make a 3.8 mile trek from Dry Creek to the memorial site, with vehicles permitted to travel three miles up Westside Road from May to November.

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Memorial Day at Mt. Rainier: ‘The Flight Has Ended, They Are Now In Thy Keeping’

This Memorial Day weekend, consider making a trip to the southeast side of Mt. Rainier National Park, where, over a year after the end of World War II, 32 United States Marines lost their lives after their plane crashed into the South Tahoma Glacier of Mt. Rainier.

2 days ago·Issaquah, United States

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