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Nile Kinnick airplane crash correspondence, 1943-1972

1943-06-12: Page 01

U.S. Naval Air Station
Quonset Point, R. I.
Saturday June 12, 1943
Dear Mr. Kinnick,
As you no doubt realize, this is going to be a difficult letter to write, but I know how anxious you are to know as many details of the crash as I can possibly give you. There are a few facts, such as places, which I am not permitted to divulge. I'm sure you understand about this. I would like to add that my wife will be traveling to her home in California when I sail again, and, if she has your permission, she would like to stop over for a day. I've told her all about it. We both were very fond of Nile and were glad to have him over to our house.
The crash occurred on the morning of June 2. Nile was flying wing on me when I noticed quite a bad oil leak in his plane. I immediately called him over the radio, gave him the lead, and followed him back to the ship. By this time the situation was quite bad, and Nile realized that he would have to make a water landing about four miles ahead of the ship. He was calm and efficient throughout and made a perfect wheels - up landing in the water. I followed him down, meanwhile calling the ship to give his exact position. When I reached the spot, Nile

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U.S. Naval Air Station Quonset Point, R. I. Saturday June 12, 1943 Dear Mr. Kinnick, As you no doubt realize, this is going to be a difficult letter to write, but I know how anxious you are to know as many details of the crash as I can possibly give you. There are a few facts, such as places, which I am not permitted to divulge. I'm sure you understand about this. I would like to add that my wife will be traveling to her home in California when I sail again, and, if she has your permission, she would like to stop over for a day. I've told her all about it. We both were very fond of Nile and were glad to have him over to our house. The crash occurred on the morning of June 2. Nile was flying wing on me when I noticed quite a bad oil leak in his plane. I immediately called him over the radio, gave him the lead, and followed him back to the ship. By this time the situation was quite bad, and Nile realized that he would have to make a water landing about four miles ahead of the ship. He was calm and efficient throughout and made a perfect wheels - up landing in the water. I followed him down, meanwhile calling the ship to give his exact position. When I reached the spot, Nile