In September 1950, LCDR Samuel Lee White was the pilot of a four-engine Douglas R5D Skymaster passenger plane assigned to Fleet Tactical Support Squadron Twenty-One (VR-21) which departed Hawaii enroute to Japan.  Aboard the plane were 26 naval personnel, including 11 Navy nurses who were bound for duty at the Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan.  The plane made three refueling stops, the final being at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.  In the early morning hours of September 19, 1950, the plane departed Kwajalein but about a minute later it crashed and exploded offshore.  The cause of the accident was not determined but it is speculated that the night takeoff with no moon or moonlight may have been a contributing factor.  A rescue party arrived at the scene within minutes but found only four bodies and a few personal possessions.  There were no survivors, and the accident marked the largest single loss of Navy nurses in the history of the Navy and was one of the greatest tragedies ever to befall the Navy Medical Department.

LCDR White was one of the seven crewmembers who died in the crash and his body was not recovered.  Historical records reveal he was born January 20, 1920 in Sylacauga, Alabama.  In 1941 he completed flight training, was commissioned an Ensign and designated Naval Aviator #9817.  During World War II he served aboard two escort carriers, USS Long Island and USS Breton, and reportedly participated in nine major battles including the Battle of Midway.  A cenotaph memorial in honor of LCDR White has been erected at Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia, next to the grave of his wife who he married in 1942.  She died in 2015.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)