When Private Bruce Barrowman boarded Flight 293, he was just 17 years old. Bruce’s loss has haunted his younger brother Greg for decades. At times, Greg has struggled to make sense of what happened, and to find some way to commemorate Bruce and the other 100 passengers and crew who were lost.
Through years of grief and sometimes anger and frustration, Greg repeatedly asked the military to search for the wreckage to find for answers to the big questions about what went wrong and why the DC-7C went down in the Gulf of Alaska. At the same time, the Barrowmans also did what they could to memorialize Bruce and never forget his sacrifice – and theirs, too.
Personal Monuments to Hidden Grief
As Greg began connecting with other Flight 293 families, he learned that many have been trying to do exactly the same thing. Like the Barrowmans, many families felt abandoned by the US government. They hunted online for information about the flight, and some also built private monuments to their lost loved ones alongside their family homes, complete with plaques and flagpoles.
With help from many of those Flight 293 families and from an informal network of aviation and military historians and others simply interested righting a decades-old wrong, Greg Barrowman led an effort to publicly commemorate the loss of those aboard, and to finally dedicate a permanent monument to the tragedy.
Creating a Permanent Memorial
On June 3, 2023, many Flight 293 families gathered near Seattle for a public ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the crash. The gathering formally memorialized the six-member civilian crew from Northwest Airlines, and the 95 active duty military, dependents and federal employees who were aboard the plane.
Among the more than 100 people who came from around the United States to pay their respects and to share their stories was Cherie Pipkin-Gardner, Bruce Barrowman’s high-school girlfriend.
“I am so proud to be here, and I’m so grateful,” Pipkin-Gardner, who traveled from Arizona, said. “I think the things that Greg and the rest of his family have done are phenomenal. It’s helped so many people.”
Once the privately funded monument had been formally dedicated at Tahoma National Cemetery south of Seattle, the Flight 293 families gathered for a picnic at Greg Barrowman’s nearby home.
As Close as Our Language Can Come
“I don’t know if you really have closure,” Pipkin-Gardner said, as she shared stories about Bruce and about her lifelong bond with the Barrowman family. “I don’t know if closure is the right word,” she continued, “but I think it’s as close as our language can come.”
On the final episode of Unsolved Histories: What Happened to Flight 293?, the families and friends left behind gather on the 60th anniversary of the tragic event. For the very first time, as a group united by shared loss, the sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, grandsons and granddaughters commemorate their loved ones and pledge to keep seeking answers about Flight 293, and to be formally acknowledged by the Department of Defense.
List of Passengers and Crew of Flight 293
Special Thanks
Tonja Anderson-Dell, Honored Bound
Greg Barrowman
Don Bennett
Carolyn Olsen Bishop
Al Dams, King County Assessor’s Office
Jim Dever, Evening Magazine
Janet Ahlalook Dozette
Clay Eals, Seattle Times
Karen Forscher
Susan Francis
Cherie Pipkin Gardner
Rosie Geer
Mitch Grayson
Robin Henderson
Gary Horcher, KIRO7 News
Ted Huetter, Museum of Flight
Irene Johnson
Darlene Jevne
Julie Kallem
Tim and Elaine Kangas
Dave Kiffer
Bruce Kitt, NW Airlines History Center
Mike Lombardi, The Boeing Company
Kathy McGuire
Dr. Timothy McMahon, Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
Sally Minick
Bernie Moskowitz
Tim Murphy
Esther Naholowaa
Karen Nix
Fred and Ingrid Olsen
Myron Partington
Luke Preston
Joe Pouliot
Richard Pouliot
Steve Pouliot
Keith Pugh
Dan Pyryt
John Reed
Judi Larson Rice
Jean Sherrard, Seattle Times
Staff Sergeant Naomi Shipley, USAF
Connie Smith
Dr. Kevin Smith, AFMAO
Peter Stekel
Barry Strauch
Staff Sergeant Benjamin Sutton, USAF
Staff Sergeant Zoe Thacker, USAF
Valerie van Heest
John Washburn
Kim Wenger
Suzie Wiley, NewDayNW
Scott Williams
Bill Wixey, FOX 13
Emil Zupo