A Daring Arctic Rescue
PILOT LANDS ON ICE TO PICK UP 11 FLYERS FROM WRECKED B-29

NEW YORK, February 24 (UP)
Eleven marooned American airmen were rescued from the Arctic wastes of Northern Greenland today by a daring 22-year-old pilot, who landed a huge four-motored transport on an icy plateau and took off again.

The marooned members of the crew of a Superfortress which crashed during a photographic mission, had been lost since Friday only 500 miles from the North Pole.

First Lieutenant Bobbie Joe Cavnar of Okmulgee, Okla., landed his huge C-54 alongside the wrecked Superfortress, loaded the 11 men none of whom was injured, and took off with the aid of rockets attached to his wings. He flew them to Thule, Greenland, about 220 miles south of the scene of their crash.

Cavnar's big plane was equipped in the ordinary way - with wheels for solid landings. He set it down perfectly, nonetheless, after circling several times to satisfy himself of a solid under footing.

Cavnar said he landed on a frozen lake surface. It was drifted with snow when he made the take-off.

He had taken off from Thule at 9:30 a.m. EST and landed at the crash scene at 11:03 a.m. He was back at Thule at 1:05 p.m. with the rescued men.

Tonight, Cavnar took off with the survivors for Westover Field, Mass.

Major General William C. Turner, commanding general of the Air Transport Command's Eastern division, was so delighted with Cavnar's feat that he was recommending him for the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster. 
The rescued flyers had disappeared Friday afternoon when their Superfortress "Kee Bird" made a forced landing. Friday night, a feeble radio message received at Point Barrows, Alaska, gave the location of the crash and late Saturday Army search planes located the wreckage. They dropped food sufficient for two weeks, warm clothing, blankets, and special Arctic survival gear.

Three C-54's, one towing a troop glider, took off at once from Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska, but were forced to put down at White Horse, Yukon Territory, by bad weather. Meanwhile, planes from the Atlantic division of the ATC flew to the rescue and it fell to Cavnar to snatch the men from the Arctic ice.

The crashed plane was one of a squadron based at Ladd Field while doing scientific research work over the Arctic on weather and the effects of the magnetic pole on navigational instruments. AAF experts were unable to explain how the plane got so far off it's course as to be forced down in Greenland.

Three Californians were among the rescued. They were First Lieutenant Vern H Arnett, Instructor Pilot - Riverside; First Lieutenant Russell S Jordan, Albany, and Second Lieutenant Robert Luedke, Engineer, Los Angeles.

Bobbie Joe Cavnar is a Notable burial at https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/dallasftworth.asp.  He was the 22-year-old pilot of the big four-engine Douglas C-54 that rescued a stranded crew of the wrecked B-29 "Kee Bird" from the far northwest tip of Greenland in February 1947. Cavnar landed his transport plane on a small frozen glacial lake near the wreck. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions and personally congratulated by President Harry S. Truman. He retired from the Air Force as a Colonel in 1964.  https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/59-1243.
*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 

Crew of Kee Bird saved from Arctic by Lt. Cavnar

Pilot of Kee-Bird saying Thanks to Lt. Cavnar

Crew in back of truck, Cavnar in back on right

Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery

Copy of complete page from newspaper with original story and caption 

Crew of Kee-Bird that were saved from Arctic

Additional photos of rescue photos to include photo of wife holding young son at team group photographs.

CAVNAR, MARGARET, LOUISE NISHIMUTA Beloved wife of the late Bobbie Joe Cavnar, Colonel, USAF (retired), and mother of six children, died peacefully on October 29, 2006, at Towsley Village, Chelsea, MI. Margaret was born in Cushing, Oklahoma, in 1922, with a unique heritage as the child of immigrants from different parts of the world. Her father was a native of Japan, while her mother was born in southern Spain. They met in Omaha, Nebraska, and settled in Oklahoma as farmers. Margaret became an RN and worked as a hospital nurse until her marriage in 1944. She then moved around the country as a military wife during Bob's 20-year career in the Air Force. After his retirement in 1964, they settled in Dallas, Texas, where they lived until Bob's death in 2002. In the early 1970s, Margaret and Bob, with their children, became active in the Catholic charismatic renewal movement. They worked together in spiritual renewal and evangelization ministries for the next 30 years. A small prayer group that started in their Dallas home grew to become a lay Catholic organization called The Community of God's Delight. In 2003, Margaret moved to Chelsea to be near her daughters, Becky Giszczak and Mary Graulich. She is survived by her children, Jim Cavnar of Ft Lauderdale, FL; Becky Giszczak of Ann Arbor, MI; Mary Graulich of Dexter, MI; Nick Cavnar of Washington DC; Chris Cavnar of Garland TX; and Richard Cavnar of Carrolton TX; and by 19 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

The crew being congratulated by the President.

BOBBIE J CAVNAR

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