I found this book after reading a biography of Clark Gable. This is a new book about his wife, Carole Lombard, and the mysterious airplane crash that took her life, her mother's life and the lives of many of America's finest service men (flyers), Clark Gable's best friend and the crew.

Interestingly, Carole Lombard's mother had a premonition, as did Clark Gable's best friend. They both believed that they would die in a plane crash and begged Lombard to take the train. She wouldn't hear of it, wanting to get home to Gable. She and Gable fought over his affair with Lana Turner before she left on the trip and he didn't see her off, and never saw her again. But, when she was on the trip, Gable sent her roses and she wanted to get home to him and make up. He never got over it.

Carole Lombard was the star of dramas and screwball comedies in the 1930's. She had just finished a movie with Jack Benny when she died.

I had always assumed that it was bad weather that caused the famous TWA plane crash of Flight 3, but it wasn't. This was way before I was ever born so I heard about it from my parents at some point when I was watching Gone With The Wind in my youth.

January 16, 1942, was a clear, cold night with unlimited visibility. The experienced and talented pilot flew the plane full on into the side of a mountain just outside of Las Vegas on the night in winter, where some beacon lights were turned off because it was war time. Pearl Harbor had just happened on December 7, 1941, so the nation was at war with Japan and with Germany.

The investigation was hampered by the desire to deal with the remains of the "celebrity" on board and her mother and friend expeditiously. This was just at the start of WWII and espionage and sabotage were suspected, but never proven.

The plane was overloaded with military equipment and Ms. Lombard's numerous trunks and luggage. They fudged the weight limit to let the plane take off at her insistence.

The crash scene was on such rough terrain that there are still pieces of this plane and another one that crashed in the same spot in 2007. It is literally on the side of a steep cliff in Nevada.

anyone who is interested in anything about Clark Gable and his wife, who was on a War Bonds tour that raised more money than anyone before or since for the cause of the War.

the fact that the author takes the trouble to tell the reader about the other non-celebrity victims of the crash.

I also liked that Clark Gable and others climbed that mountain. He didn't go all the way up because other people stopped him, but I have no doubt he would have. The death of his wife changed him and he was a kinder more considerate person after this horrific event in his life.

The other people who climbed that mountain braved the cold and risked life and limb to do it, to retrieve the loved ones of other people. One guy even camped out guarding the bodies while the rest went for help. That takes some very special people, some wonderful Americans.

the fact that at the time of the crash all the victims weren't treated the same way by the government. There definitely were VIPs who got the treatment even though they were all in pieces on that mountainside.

watch more of Lombard's movies. I think I've only seen two of them so far.

like I know more now about Clark Gable than I did before.

really did a thorough job. This is a heartbreaking account of what happened and what celebrities throwing their weight around can do. Sometimes it is ironic what can be done. Carole Lombard used her celebrity to get on that flight and stay on it, bumping some other civilians and military people. Those people lived and she ended up in pieces on the side of snowy mountain.

it is interesting and intriguing. I was under a mistaken assumption about the whole thing so I learned something about it.

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Created Feb 12, 2014 at 10:50am • Submit your own review...