t opside V olume 114 , I s s u e 1 P a ge 10
Aviation , continued
88th Annual Captain Emilio Carranza Memorial Service , Tabernacle , New Jersey
In July , Joseph Giannattasio , then DCAPT-E , arranged for District 5NR Auxiliary Air Program members to participate in the Emilio Carranza Crash Memorial service in Tabernacle , NJ to honor this pioneering aviator on the anniversary of his fatal crash in the New Jersey Pine Barrens .
This year marks the 88th anniversary of the fatal crash of Captain Emilio Carranza , the “ Mexican Lindbergh ,” deep in a remote area of the New Jersey Pine Barrens located in the Coast Guard Auxiliary ’ s Fifth-Northern District . It was in the early morning hours of July 13 , 1928 , that local residents of the town of Tabernacle heard the engine of a small plane stuttering over the vast and lonely wilderness during a terrible electrical storm . Piloting the struggling aircraft was a young Mexican captain en route from New York to Mexico City , guided by nothing more than a hand held flashlight . Soon the sound of the engine was heard no more . His body was discovered the next day by some locals picking blueberries .
WHARTON STATE FOREST , NJ - Joseph Giannattasio ADSO-AV before the Emilio Carranza Crash Monument during the 88th annual memorial service .
Coast Guard Auxiliary photo by E . J . Arsenault .
The site of his tragic crash is today marked by a 12ft . memorial plinth that was paid for , as a nearby sign says , by the " Pennies of Mexican Children ." Standing in the middle of a sandy clearing in the Wharton State Forest , the spire is decorated with Aztec-styled designs of a falling eagle . A touching , if strangely out-of-place monument to a hero died far from home . Every year Mount Holly Post 11 of the American Legion along with representatives from the Mexican consulates in New York City and Philadelphia hold a Memorial Service at the Monument to honor the fallen aviator . The Memorial Service is held on the Second Saturday of July at 1:00 p . m .
After the tragedy in 1928 , the members of Post 11 made a promise to keep the memory of Emilio Carranza and his mission of Good Will and Peace alive . It was Post 11 who took charge of Carranza ’ s remains until they were returned to Mexico .
This is a piece of Aviation history and the uniqueness of this monument in New Jersey and the tragic tale it tells is worth the trek into the pine barrens for anyone interested in aviation and local history .
Emilio Carranza Crash Monument Address : Carranza Rd , Tabernacle , NJ WILMINGTON Directions : , DE - District Auxiliary Aviation
( Take AUXAIR Hwy ) 70 members to Red Lion going Circle through ( US Hwy Auxiliary 206 ) and turn Crew south on US Hwy 206 . After one mile turn left onto Carranza Rd . Drive for Resource about nine Management miles , into Wharton training State ( AUX-17 Forest and ) to past ensure the teen boot camp . The Memorial will be visible on the right , in a clearing in the proficiency trees . and safety in flight .
Coast Guard Auxiliary photo by Joseph Giannattasio ,
GPS : N 39 46.652 W 074 37.924 ADSO-PB Photography