Daniel “Dinny” Frederick McMann was born on February 25, 1930, the only child of James and Frances (Powers) McMann. He attended local schools before answering the call to serve his country in the United States Air Force during the Korean War era. Dinny was proud to serve his country and excited about his future. He had traveled to McChord AFB from Elmendorf AFB to test for Officer’s Training Candidate school. He passed his qualifying test and was headed back to his duty station in Alaska when the unimaginable happened.
On November 22, 1952, Airman McMann was among the 52 servicemen aboard the military C-124 Globemaster II transport aircraft traveling from McChord Air Force Base in Washington to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. The aircraft crashed and was lost near Mount Gannett, Alaska, and all 52 servicemen aboard lost their lives. The remote location of the crash entombed all the service members for over 50 years, until 2002 when military aircraft spotted wreckage approximately 12 miles from the original 1952 crash site. The plane’s wreckage, along with the human remains, became part of the Colony Glacier, moving and shifting over time. True to the promise to “leave no man behind” the United States Military began the seemingly impossible task to recover the remains of the 52 souls lost that fateful day, and to bring them home to their families. The dangerous and gruesome task of finding, recovering, and identifying the lost service members on Colony Glacier began. The United States Military is strong, dedicated and determined, and after numerous years of pain-staking work on the glacier, the promise to bring them all home was finally realized.
Airman McMann remained unaccounted for for more than seventy-three years following the crash. As the final serviceman identified by the dedicated and hard-working folks from the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation (AFMAO) and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner (AFME), and the unwavering service and support from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Dinny’s return completed the effort to identify all 52 men lost aboard the aircraft.
In recognition of his service and sacrifice, Airman McMann will be honored with a Dignified Arrival upon his return to Wisconsin via Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport before being escorted home to Marinette for his long awaited burial next to his parents, whose hearts never mended after the loss of their only child.
Dinny is survived by numerous cousins: the Sullivans from Long Lake and Marshfield, Wisconsin, Golden, Colorado, and Chattanooga, Tennessee; the Nichols and Halada families from Long Lake; Tabberts from Oshkosh and Rhinelander; the Sullivans from Carolina Shores, North Carolina; and the Webbs from Aurora, Colorado; along with other extended family members.
A graveside service with full military honors will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at Forest Home Cemetery, in Marinette. Military honors will be provided by the United States Air Force.
The family of Airman Second Class Daniel "Dinny" McMann proudly invites all who are willing to attend his services to honor our fallen hero.
A special acknowledgement and thanks to Tonja Anderson-Dell for her tireless effors to bring them all home.
Hansen-Onion-Martell Funeral Home is assisting the family.
