page_title: Alaska Veterans Memorial
section_title: Plane crash memorials
hierarchical_section_title: Alaska Veterans Memorial / Plane crash memorials
caption_attribution_description: English: Memorial to victims of a 1954 crash of a C-47 in Alaska, Alaska Veterans Memorial. One of the actual propellors from the crashed plane is used as part of the memorial.
context_page_description: The Alaska Veterans Memorial is an outdoor memorial grove in Denali State Park in Interior Alaska. The memorial honors Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Alaska National Guard, and Merchant Marine veterans from Alaska, as well as specific Alaskans who were awarded the Medal of Honor. There are also small memorials to the passengers and crew of military plane crashes in Alaska. The site was selected because of the scenic beauty of the area and its location between Alaska's two largest cities. On a clear day visitors can see Denali from just outside the memorial. It is 147 miles from Anchorage and 214 miles from Fairbanks, on a hill above the Byers Lake campground. During the main visitor season there is a staffed visitor center and bookstore. The main memorial alcove was constructed in 1983, Governor Bill Sheffield, himself a veteran, dedicated the site in 1984.
context_section_description: Two military plane crashes in Alaska are also memorialized outside of the alcove. In February 1954 a  C-47 crashed into a mountain, killing 10 of the 16 aboard. In November 1957 a TB-29 Superfortress stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base strayed off course in bad weather and crashed in the Talkeetna Mountains, killing 6 of the 10 crew aboard at the time. One of the survivors was awarded the Soldiers Medal for his lifesaving actions while the survivors awaited rescue.
caption: One of the propellers from the downed C-47 is used in the memorial.
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