American Claim Raises Doubt

Chronicle (Levin), 26 November 1946, Page 9

American Claim Raises Doubt

Press Assn.'

MYSTERY MAN ABOARD

v Telearavh

■Copyright

Received Tuesday, 11.30 a.m. LONDON, Nov. 26. The United States Air. Force public relations officer, Colonel Anders, broadcasting from Munich railway station in regard to the finding of the Dakota which crashianded on Rosenlau Glacier, high up on the French-Italian Alps on Tuesday, said: "There is one misunderstanding that must be corrected. Some correspondents were fcold that a Royal Air Force Lancaster first sighted the wrecked Oakota. As a matter of fact the first to sight the wreck was an American plane carrying Generals Snavely and Tate at 2.30 p.m. on November 22."

Colonel Anders added: It gives me a lot of pleasure to officially deny the story that the Lancaster first sighted the Dakota. I know the British themselves, had British personnel been cohcerned, would have been glad if their own plane had picked them up first." In London an Air Ministry spokesman said he could not comment on Colonel Anders' remarks, out added that Bomber Command had received a cable from the oommander of the United States forces, in Europe on November 23 conveying "deep appreciation of Bomber Command 's service in finding the crashed aircraft, and the hard work put in on the job." Reuter's Vienna correspondent reports that the authorities refusq to give correspondents any information about the twelfth man on the Dakota, George Harvey, whose presence was unknown uhtil he arrived at Meiringen on November 24 in one of the Storach's last ; ferrying trips from the Glacier. Mr. Harvey, who is going to Leghorn on official business, was apparently in the Dakota as a hitchhiker. Correspondents wanted to know how Mr. Harvey managed to board the plane without getting his aame on the plane's manifest, and why it was not announced earlier that he was a passenger when at least'five persons at United States Headquarters must have known he was aboard.