By Kerry Edwards
On March 11, 1949, two naval aviators took off at 10:05 a.m. from the Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle, a location now called now Magnuson Park, for what should have been a two-hour flight in an SNJ trainer. Lt. (j.g.) Benjamin Vreeland and Ensign Gaston Mayes never returned. In the 1950s and early 1960s, after items were found in and around Black Lake, a few air miles from the Town of Snoqualmie, Washington, it was believed the airplane disintegrated on impact, with the bulk of the aircraft resting from 2-10 feet in the muddy bottom. For over 70 years, the U.S. Navy never struck the airplane from their missing list and never officially notified families of the airplane potentially being in the lake. Finally, on December 4, 2020, the Navy Underwater History and Heritage Command sent letters out to family members stating they believe the SNJ-5 Texan remains rest in the silty bottom of the lake. In May 2021, American Legion Post 79 of Snoqualmie installed a permanent three-ton Rock Memorial at the lake, but low clouds and fog precluded a memorial flyover.
In October 2021, after a long, hot, dry summer in the Great Northwest, Cascade Warbirds Operations Officer Stan “Sundance” Kasprzyk, EAA 882629, received an email from a member of the team who had been involved in the research on the SNJ crash, stating that family members of the lost pilots would again be visiting the area in the November timeframe, near the Veterans Day weekend, and were asking if any warbird pilots might be available for another attempt at a memorial veteran flyby. As November approached and atmospheric rivers of rain and low clouds began returning, Sundance was able to get two thumbs up from potential fliers, Cascade Warbirds Squadron Commander John ‘Smokey’ Johnson, EAA 398657, and Eric ‘Beaker’ Olson. Smokey’s SNJ-5 would be a perfect candidate since it was the same make and model as the lost aircraft in 1949.
The week before the planned flight brought a solid stretch of rain, wind, and low clouds, but held out hope for a break in the weather on Saturday. The morning initially dawned with generally VFR to marginally VFR conditions, but quickly degraded to low clouds and fog due to all the recent moisture. Sundance met Beaker at Paine Field due to the fog, where they scoped out the weather as local observers to allow Smokey to sneak in from his home airport, Diamond Point, in his SNJ. Just as timing was getting critical to allow an overflight with family members and observers still on the ground at Black Lake, the weather cleared sufficiently for Smokey to land at Paine Field in his SNJ for fuel and a briefing. Since Sundance had flown over the hard-to-find small Black Lake in the past, he served as the flight navigator in Smokey’s SNJ back seat, while CWB photographer Dan Shoemaker joined Beaker in the Navion for photo opportunities.
They quickly blasted off as a two-ship from Paine Field and headed directly to Fall City and Snoqualmie Falls to establish the run-in heading. The terrain rises quickly to the east into the Cascade foothills, and they threaded their way around hills and shark-finned ridges, followed the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River, then turned northwest for passes over the lake. The first pass was too far to the west, but they quickly circled and found the lake using GPS coordinates. The weather held off for a number of low passes, then a close formation fan break/missing man to the west, and a final solo salute by the SNJ to the family on the ground and the memory of the lost aviators.
Once they returned for an overhead break at Paine Field, they received a call from the team on the ground at Black Lake, who expressed their appreciation and noted that the family ‘felt chills’ as they flew by. Mission accomplished!
