Hunt Body of Iowa Flier Off Florida
Miami, Fla. – (AP) – The navy Friday held faint hope of finding Lt. (jg) Robert B. Harper, of Crescent, Ia., whose plane exploded and crashed into the sea Wednesday night.
Harper was flying in a night formation from the OPA Locke naval air station when his plane plunged out of line and into the ocean five miles east of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., naval air station.
No parachute was seen to leave the ship before it hit the water. The search continued Friday despite choppy seas.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Friday, February 22, 1946, Page 1
Iowan Missing After His Plane Crashes at Sea
MIAMI, FLA., (AP)—The Navy today listed Lieutenant (jg) Robert Bruce Harper of Crescent, Ia., as missing after it had identified him as the pilot of a navy fighter plane which crashed Wednesday nigh in the Atlantic ocean off Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Planes and crashboats searching in the Miami area have failed to spot the wreckage.
Harper was flying in a formation of six when he suddenly veered off and crashed in flames, Lieutenant (jg) William B. Barrow, flight leader, reported.
Source: Carrol Daily Times Herald, Carroll, Iowa, Friday, February 22, 1946
**Note-The above newspaper mention of Robert B. Harper being from Crescent, Ia, is likely incorrect. Records on ancestry.com, which include the Federal Census document, all indicate that instead it was Creston, Iowa, as his place of residence in the 1930s to at least the 1940 Federal Census.**
Robert Bruce Harper
Born – 23 Jun 1921, Onawa, Iowa – Monona County IA
Died – 20 Feb 1946
1930 Federal Census, living with his parents, Creston, Iowa
1940 Federal Census, living with his parents, Creston, Iowa
R. Bruce Harper was born June 23, 1921 to Donn Windsor and Alice Patricia Harper. He died Feb. 20, 1946 and is buried in Graceland Cemetery, Creston, IA.
Lt. Harper served in World War II with the U.S. Naval Air Corps and had served aboard the USS Washington (BB-56) and at Naval Air Stations in FL, IA and TX. He was MIA/FOD when his plane crashed into the sea near NAS, Miami, FL.
Source: ancestry.com, with photo posted as public record
