white emblem. Its charter, formulated by the United Nations Security Council, was to investigate atrocity reports.

            Recently, four Northwest Airlines crew members who were part of this unique United Nations drama sat down to recall the past, Captains Warren Avenson, Jim Wilkinson, Gene Schwartz and Purser Bob Chernich. All are retired in Washington State’s Puget Sound area.

            Why Northwest crews? Why did the United Nations tap NWA for this demanding job? – “I guess it was logical,” says Avenson. “We’d been in the Orient for about three years when the war started. We had two DC-3”s of our own and had been flying them three round trips a week between Tokyo and Seoul. We had a reputation. We did a lot of good things over there. After World War II, for instance, we took on the job of training Japanese pilots for Japan Airlines when it was permitted to start up again. And, obviously, the U.N. people couldn’t ask the U.S. Military to fly them around.”

            Schwartz also recalled: “Anyway, some of us felt, I think, that the Military, some of it at least, wouldn’t give the United Nations the time of day.”

            Chernich: The U.N. wanted an airplane and asked Northwest to get it for them. UN-99 was a vintage C-47. What was readable in the log indicted it had once been ditched someplace, fished out of the water and refurbished. We bought it from Hong Kong Airways – we had a working agreement with them back about then – and turned the ship over to the U.N.”

            Wilkinson. “We did the maintenance on UN-99 too. Northwest fixed the instrument panel so that it pretty well matched the ones on our own planes, except for the magnetic compass”.

            Avenson. “ That was sort of funny. The compass was properly in the center of the windshield “V” but you read it by looking in a mirror behind it, as though you were outside looking in. I guess that’s the way the Brits did it”

            Schwartz: “And for awhile there was a sign on the instrument panel that read, “Slacken off before landing.” Good idea.”

            UN-99 was not quite as svelte as today’s corporate jet, Chernich and Wilkinson recall. Its tired old body was emblazoned with “United Nations” in blue block letters above the row of windows and on each side of its vertical tail. With a big “UN-99” and the United Nations flag. It had the standard C-47 wide cargo door. Inside were about fourteen funny-looking hard bench seats. With backs, easily removable for cargo. That was about all.

            How did the plane get its name? It was apparently was Captain Bill Dean’s call. Northwest, then, had two pilots named Bill Dean. The late Captains William E. Dean and William F. Dean. William F. Dean commanded UN-99 a good part of the time.