![]() The 61st Troop Carrier Group also flew combat missions into North Korea, carrying ammunition, supplies, and equipment to besieged UN forces and returning to Japan with wounded personnel and evacuees. Stationed at Thule Air Base in Greenland during World War II (1941-1945), Hodgkin had been reactivated during the Korean War (1950-1953) to fly Douglas C-54 Skymasters on the polar route to Japan, providing airlift of personnel and supplies for United Nations forces. Air Force Reserve, attached to the 14th Troop Carrier Squadron, 61st Troop Carrier Group at McChord Air Force Base in Pierce County. John Wilfred Hodgkin (1909-1989) was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Hodgkin, whose escapade captures newspaper headlines for four days, tells reporters he undertook the flight to demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of using light aircraft for high altitude rescue work and mountain warfare. He will be charged in federal court with landing a private aircraft in a national park without permission and be fined $350. ![]() With the help of a National Park Service ranger and 20 gallons of gasoline, dropped from an Air Force rescue plane, Hodgkin will take off again and return safely to Spanaway. The next morning, Hodgkin will push his airplane down the snow-covered face of Nisqually Glacier, glide, without power, to frozen Mowich Lake, at the 5,000-foot level, and land safely on the ice. ![]() However, when Hodgkin prepares to leave, the engine will not start in the rarefied air and he is forced to spend the night on top of the mountain, huddled in the Cub’s cockpit. ![]() Hodgkin, age 42, a pilot stationed at McChord Air Force Base, flies his ski-equipped Piper J-3 Cub from Spanaway Air Strip to the top of Mount Rainier (14,410 feet), establishing a new world record for a high-altitude landing. ![]()
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