The George 1 Repatriation Project is committed to the recovery and repatriation of the remains of three young servicemen who died when their U.S. Navy seaplane — George 1 — crashed in Antarctica on December 30, 1946:
Ensign Maxwell A. Lopez, USNR, 20
Newport, Rhode Island
Aviation Radioman Wendell K. Hendersin, USN, 25
Sparta, Wisconsin
Aviation Machinist Mate Frederick W. Williams, USN, 26
Huntingdon, Tennessee
On January 5, 1947, weather finally permitted the survivors to bury Max Lopez, Bud Hendersin, and Fred Williams in what they assumed would be temporary graves under George 1’s starboard wing.
Interview with Rich Lopez, Ted Lopez, Gene Litz, and Lou Sapienza
October 24, 2007, ABC 7 News, Washington, DC
About this Website
If this is your first visit to this site, we recommend that you go to these parts first:
George 1 was part of Admiral Richard Byrd's Operation Highjump expedition to the Antarctic. It crashed at 900 feet above sea level on the Noville Peninsula in Antarctica — at latitude 71° 33’ south, longitude 98° 45’ west.
The survivors were rescued by their U.S. Navy shipmates on January 12, 1947, but the remains of the three men who died are still in Antarctica, currently about 150 feet below the surface of the ice.
Now that appropriate technology is available, an experienced polar recovery team is preparing to return the remains of Max Lopez, Bud Hendersin, and Fred Williams to their families — who have never forgotten them, and who still care very much — for burial in the United States.
We are at a critical juncture to recover of remains of the George 1 crew lost in Antarctica in 1947. This past December Vice Admiral Mark Ferguson III, Chief of Naval Personnel, requested the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) to conduct a full feasibility report on George 1 recovery mission.
With this step we hope to finally set the wheels in motion for the recovery of Maxwell Lopez, Bud Hendersin and Fred Williams.
This is our moment. For the first time in 63 years, a focused family effort has been initiated through the Fallen American Veterans Foundation.
The surviving members of the Lopez, Hendersin, and Williams families united to form a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation for the sole purpose of accepting donations to finance the George 1 Repatriation Project (G1RP). We stand ready to aid both financially and logistically to help bring The Plan to fruition.
We have broad support. The VFW and American Legion fully endorse the recovery. Also leading scientific
authorities from the US Geological Survey (USGS); NASA, Jet Propulsion Lab and The Byrd Polar Research Center (BPRC) at The Ohio State University verify George 1 mission viability.
Please Donate Now
We need your generous support to help us:
Supply administrative and logistical support to the George 1 Repatriation Project
Create materials demonstrating the nine phase George 1 Repatriation Mission Plan
Lobby veterans groups, Congress, and government offices.
Sustain the G1RP operations during a $3.5 million national fund raising campaign to finance the mission.
