Pilot 1st Lt. Harry H. Dunham, O-413448 (KIA, BR) Cincinnati, OH
Passenger Captain Dudley Victor Peck, VX88146 (WIA, rescued) Melbourne, VIC
Crashed October 23, 1943
MACR none
Aircraft History
Built by Stinson. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as L-5 Sentinel serial number unknown. Disassembled and shipped overseas to New Guinea and reassembled.
Wartime History
Assigned to the 5th Air Force, 374th Troop Carrier Group, 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron. No known nickname or nose art.
Mission History
On October 23, 1943 took off from Nadzab Airfield piloted by 1st Lt. Harry H. Dunham with passenger Australian Army Captain Dudley V. Peck on a flight bound for Boana in New Guinea. This aircraft crash landed near Boana at the head waters of the Eia River and Mount Erap. On impact, Dunham was killed and passenger Peck was injured.
Rescue
Afterwards, an Australian Army patrol trekked for a week to reach this crash site. At the end of October reached the crash site and rescued passenger Peck and recovered the remains of Dunham then trekked for a week to Nadzab.
Recovery of Remains
Dunham was initially buried at USAF Cemetery Nadzab #1 at plot 2, row 1 grave 18. Later, exhumed and transported to Finschafen. On February 6, 1945 at 10:00am buried at Finschafen No. 2 Cemetery at grave 148. Postwar, his remains were exhumed and transported to the Philippines. On October 27, 1947 placed into storage at the AGRS Mausoleum in Manila.
Memorials
Dunham was officially declared dead the day of the mission. Dunham earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and the Purple Heart, posthumously. On January 15, 1948 Dunham was permanently buried at Manila American Cemetery at Plot D Row 11 Grave 178. He also has a memorial marker at his family plot next to the graves of his parents at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH at Garden LN, Section 88, Lot 48, Space 12.
Relatives
Dr. Henry K. Dunham (father)
Amelia Kennon Dunham (sister died May 22, 1989)
Marian Chase Dunham (wife)
References
Harry H. Dunham was born in 1910. Prewar, he was a world traveler and cinematographer. In 1934 he filmed native people in Samoa. Next, in 1936 he traveled to China to film the Chinese 8th Army being routed by Japanese. Dunham was a cinematographer for Orson Welles Too Much Johnson (1938) and was a friend of author Paul Bowles.
Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) -
Harry H. Dunham
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Harry H. Dunham
IMDB - Harry Dunham, director, cinematographer
FindAGrave - 1Lt Harry Hickenlooper Dunham (memorial marker)
WW2 Nominal Roll - Dudley Victor Peck
Thanks to Edward Rogers for research and analysis
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Last Updated
June 14, 2021
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