COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sunday, March 16, national nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) will pay tribute to the American heroes who selflessly sacrificed their lives aboard Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 (FTLF 739). Join us for a special event at 2 p.m. ET at the Vietnam Welcome Home Room located at the WAA National Museum in Columbia Falls, Maine. WAA will broadcast the ceremony live on its official Facebook page and over Wreaths Across America Radio.
- Watch the ceremony live on Facebook, Sun., March 16 at 2 p.m. ET, click here.
- To listen live on Wreaths Across America Radio, click here.
- To learn more about FTLF 739, watch this video.
Sixty-three years ago, on March 16, 1962, President Kennedy sanctioned FTLF 739 and its crew to complete a secret mission to survey Vietnam. This reconnaissance mission went missing, with no trace, the plane or its passengers never found. Onboard were 93 United States Army soldiers, 11 civilian crewmembers, and four Vietnamese citizens. Very little is known about the fate of FTLF 739, and to this day it remains a mystery.
Due to the circumstances surrounding this mission, the U.S. government never added the names of those lost to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. In 2021, WAA and its founder Morrill Worcester erected the only monument bearing the names of these American heroes. The monument is located on Worcester tip land in Maine, where balsam is harvested to make veterans’ wreaths placed each December as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.
The inscription on the FTLF 739 monument in Maine reads: “Missing in action; Presumed dead. Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 went missing on March 16, 1962, with 93 U.S. Army soldiers on board. These men and their flight crew perished in what would become one of the biggest aviation mysteries out of the Vietnam War era.”
This solemn ceremony will share messages and stories about FTLF 739 and pay homage to the crew’s memory. Join us as we come together to remember and honor these selfless individuals and the enduring spirit of courage they exemplified.
National Wreaths Across America Day will be held this year on Sat., December 13, 2025. This free event is open to all, and the organization encourages community members to participate by volunteering locally or sponsoring a wreath for an American hero. For $17, you can help sponsor the year-long programs and resources provided by Wreaths Across America.
For more information, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
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About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s yearlong mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
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Amber Caron Wreaths Across America 2075136457 acaron@wreathsacrossamerica.org
