Rafferty Lawrence E., Captain USAF b. 13 Jun 1921 Highland Park, Illinois d. some years after May 1951 Russian Slave Labor Camp East of Kaliningrad, Russia and West of Moscow

Rafferty Lawrence E., Captain USAF

1921 - 1951

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Suffix	Captain USAF
Nickname	Larry
Birth	13 Jun 1921	Highland Park, Illinois
Gender	Male
Occupation...a job	1: .......10 March 1951	Walker AFB New Mexico, Area 51, SAC
	Capt Lawrence Rafferty,Pilot, is reactivated during the Korean War as General Curtis LeMay expands Strategic Air Command capabilities. Larry is assigned to the 715th Weapons Squadron, Medium, of the 509th Bomb Wing. Larry was going to be checked out in the B-50D Medium Bomber, capable of carrying nuclear weapons. This Bomb Wing delivered "Fat Man", the 1st nuclear weapon against Japan. The 509th was the core of SAC. Capt. Rafferty, who is currently non-qualified, will be upgraded to Pilot current, after training missions at Lakenheath & Mildenhall RAFB. His Orders have been cut and direct that, he will be unaccompanied.(Upon completion of training his pregnant wife Frannie and 5 children may come later.)
Military, Active Duty, Combat	2: 0100 Zulu 23 Apr 1951 6 PM Chicago Holy Thur	750 mi Southwest of Ireland over North Atlantic Ocean
	British Weather Ship 4YJ, Longitude 52 degrees North Latitude, 20 degrees West Longitude has just transmitted its hourly weather forcast. USAF C-124, tail number 49-0244, is 80mi. southwest of 4YJ. 0244's radio operator Staff Sgt Homer Jones Jr. acknowledges receipt of the weather and requests forwarding of 0244's position, status on board and ETA to its English and US Command Centers. All is normal. 0244 is entering a Low Pressure Frontal Cell with thunderstorms and northeasterly winds. Other than mild icing above 18,000 feet 0244 is very capable of successfully penetrating the cell and withstanding moderate turbulance.
Military, Active Duty, Combat	3.. 0115Zulu 23 Apr 1951 Abt 6:15 PM Chicago ti	75 Mi So. So. West of 4YJ in the North Atlantic
	Smoke & fire is reported in the cargo crates. Radio Operator, Jones is ordered by Maj Robert J. Bell, Aircraft Commander, to transmit:... MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.....US Air Force 0244.....position: 50 degrees 45 minutes North, 24 degrees 03 minutes West. 53 Souls on Board......fire in cargo crates......jettisoning crates......preparing to ditch. The time was about 0115Z. The broadcast was received by 4YJ and transmitted to USAF England. A 509th B-29 is launched to search. In less than 3 hours the B-29 reports sighting flares and finding the 5 man life rafts. (These rafts are equipped for cold weather survival.) 0244 has successfully ditched and ALL 53 crew and passengers, with life jackets on, have exited into the rafts. After circling the ditching scene and probably listening to the Gibson Girl rescue radios in the rafts the B-29, commanded by Capt. Muller, must depart due to low fuel. Astoundingly, No additional search and rescue aircraft are launched. Naval ships arrived Sunday (19 hours later.) After one of the largest searches to this day all that was found were charred crates and a partially deflated raft and small articles. No survivors were found nor were any bodies recovered from the 54 degree, 5 foot seas. All had disappeared. To this day there have been no reported recoveries and varius aspects of the mission ditching remain Classified Top Secret. [A classification of Top Secret exceeding 60 years implies the information still has the potential to damage US interests.] It has been speculated that survivors were taken aboard a Russian sub for interrogation in Russia. The Russian submarines were modified German Type IX U-boats operating in these waters. They would not have boarded 53 survivors. But some lesser number? Sure. There is numerous evidence that captured American Servicemen were held in Russian Gulags. We shall probably never know the actual fate of Capt. Lawrence Rafferty.
		1951 Russian Patrol Ships "Orel" & "Korshun" …
Died	some years After May 1951	Russian Slave Labor Camp East of Kaliningrad, Russia and West of Moscow
	The USAF C-124 aircraft Larry was aboard ditched, 453.1 miles SW of Shannon, Ireland in the north Atlantic enrought to Lakenheath RAFB, England. This happened Holy Week Fri 23 Mar 1951. One of the only items recovered was Larry's B-4 bag located floating in the debris field by Naval vessels. ITINERY OF C-124 TAIL NUMBER 49-0244 1915 Zulu, Wednesday, 21 Mar 1951, C-124 Globemaster II departs Walker AFB, Roswell, NM with aircrews and equipment of the 509th Bomb Group, destination Lakenheath, England. Larry has driven from northern Illinois with a buddy to Walker AFB having just been activated for assignment to SAC. 2212 Zulu Touch down Barksdale AFB, Shreveport, LA Crew & Passengers remain overnight. Thursday 22 Mar Brigadier General Paul Thomas Cullen and his Staff join the passengers and crew at boarding time. BG Cullen is the first Commander of 7th Air Group, Strategic Air Command, England. Destination Loring AFB, ME SAC B-36 Bomber Base. 0425 Zulu Thursday 22 Mar 1951 Departure for Loring AFB, ME. General Cullen's Staff Officers and Enlisted men on this plane are among the nation's top strategic bombing and nuclear weapons military experts. They are very valuable to the USAF as their joint knowledge covers the latest nuclear technology and tactics. Loring AFB has a Nuclear Weapons storage bunker to provide B-36's with these weapons. A C-124 is capable of carrying these 2,000 to 4,000 lb. weapons. There seems little reason to stop at Loring other than to load an unfused Nuke since the next landing is only a couple of hours away at Gander AB Newfoundland. 1230 Zulu Flight touches down at Loring AFB, Presque Isle, ME for refueling. (And loading?) Flight Crew files flight plan for final great circle route to Mildenhall RAFB, U.K, via Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Their route of travel is the Great Circle Track to cross the US & British weather ships spread across the north Atlantic between Newfoundland and England. These ships give on-the-hour weather reports and relay position reports to overflying aircraft. They can also verify an aircraft's position. They are in high frequency radio communication with Prestwick Scotland and US Command Centers. Aircraft status, and their ETA's are transmitted by these ships to aircraft and appropriate military sites in England and the US. Soviet submarines and their radio trawler ships regularly monitor these communications and are known to be active in the vicinity of 4YJ. They have no compunction about capturing American servicmen for this is a tense era in the Cold War. Russia has just proven,by exploding an atom bomb that it has stolen the technology from the US. The Rosenberg's will be executed for delivering those secrets to Russian agents who have penetrated the State Dept., the Pentagon, and American Academia. 0100 Zulu Friday, 21 Mar 1951, 6PM [Holy Thursday in Chicago], AF 0244 reports it's position to British ship 4YJ. Navigator, Capt Francis N Davis, employing Loran A equipment reports their position as 800 mi south west of Ireland. (No Navigator would report this way. He would give Longitude and Latitude down to the Minute.)
Buried	some years After May 1951	Behind the Iron Curtain, Beloruss, most probably or Luthiwania Estonia, or Latvia
	26 March 2012, 3:15PM Arlington National Cemetery Washington D.C. Capt. Lawrence E. Raferty is Memorialized in a Service attended by his Widow, Francis Fortman Rafferty, his children, grandchildren, two Fortman Families, his sister, Rosemary Rafferty Beckman, age 93 and four Rafferty nieces and nephews. May he Rest in Peace where-ever this Warrior lies.
Military, Active Duty, Combat	26 Mar 2012	Grave-Side..... Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, DC.
	3:15 PM Monday, the Funeral Cortage, with its Military Casson, carrying the flag drapped coffin in memory of Capt. Larry Rafferty and pulled by 4 Air Force horses winds its way through the tombstone surrounded pathways of Arlington. A Color Guard leads the way with an Air Force Band following in front of the Casson. A crowd of some 63 people follow the coffin to a hillside grave site. There is Larry's tombstone. Two Chaplains read the service in front of widow Frannie Fortman Rafferty. From the crest of the hill 3 volleys of gunfire ring out in salute to Larry. The crowd is mournful in the breezy afternoon sun. The flag presentation is finished and the AF Colonel Chaplain presents the flag to Frannie. "On behalf of the President and people of the United States, please accept our deepest sorrow at your loss and let me present you ............"
Person ID	I214	Schmit(t)... Schmidt...Smith...Fortmann...Fortman....Bourcier...Boursier.....Morris
Last Modified	4 May 2012

Father	Rafferty Alexander Andrew, b. Abt 1885
Mother	Gensch Minna Johanna Elizabeth Christine, b. 1891
Married	Abt 1908
Family ID	F301	Group Sheet

Family Fortman Thecla Frances

Married 19 Apr 1944 Army-Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, CO

Children

>	1. Rafferty Sandra Louise
	2. Rafferty Minna Elizabeth
	3. Rafferty Stephen Edward, b. 31 Mar 1948, Illinois
	4. Rafferty Linda MMarie
	5. Rafferty Lawrence

Last Modified 28 Dec 2021

Family ID F058 Group Sheet

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