ASSEMBLY Magazine is published bi-monthly in September, November, January, March, May, and July by the Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607 . www.aog.usma.edu/Pubs/pubstaff.htm

One of those killed in the December 30, 1951 air crash was West Pointer Francis Campbell Camilli. Cadet Camilli's father, Frankie Campbell, had fought Max Baer on August 25, 1930 and was pronounced dead the following day. Frankie was brother to baseball star Dolph Camilli.

The Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy has the following entry in the section "NON-GRADUATES of the Class of 1952, admitted as cadets in 1948":

Francis Campbell Camilli: A-CA: D-nr Phoenix AZ (Air acdt) 30 Dec-51 Cadet a-22

A- Admitted from, a - age
ACCIDENT DETAILS (from http://www.planecrashinfo.com/ )

Date: December 30, 1951
Time: 15:40
Location: Near Phoenix, Arizona
Operator: Military - U.S. Air Force
Flight #: ?
Route: New York - Williams AFB
AC Type: Douglas C-47D
Registration: 47-76266
cn / ln: ?
Aboard: 28 (passengers:24 crew:4)
Fatalities: 28 (passengers:24 crew:4)
Ground: 0
Summary: Crashed into a mountainside at an altitude of 7,000 ft. while en route.

Source: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/, specifically page:
http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1951/1951-52.htm

Editor's note:

The letter "The Fifth Survivor" caught my eye today June 10, 2005, because it is rare to find letters to the editor in ASSEMBLY, let alone in TAPS, the supplement that only contains obituaries and death notices.

Relevance?  Ursula and I had just seen the movie "Cinderella Man", which portrays the prize fighting persona of Max Baer within the story about his nemesis, James J. Braddock. Seeing the movie prompted me to write a web narrative which I have entitled, "My Encounter with Max Baer".

You can read about Max Baer's bout with Frankie Campell, (Cadet Francis Camilli's father), at the following link:
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~28099~1936786,00.html

My high school baseball teammate and noted baseball author Bill Swank is a friend of Dolph Camilli, Francis Camilli's uncle.

Alan Lubke

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You can find this again from my  SUPER INDEX  at www.ojlubke.com. See "Baer, Max - the Camilli Link"