PFC Westenfelder was on board a C-47 which took off from Torokina Airfield, Bougainville on May 18, 1944 bound for Guadalcanal at 10:08 with 23 persons plus 1,300 pounds of mail aboard. The last radio contact with the aircraft was at the time of take-off, and shortly after communication was lost. The state of the weather was threatening, with rain reducing visibility from six miles to one mile. A thorough, systematic search was carried out for two days by means of a large number of aircraft and PT-Boats, and no trace of the missing aircraft, nor those on board, was ever located.
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