On November 1, 1955, United Flight 629, carrying thirty-nine passengers and five crew members, did not reach its destination as the plane exploded just 11 minutes after it took off. The explosion was caused by a homemade bomb placed by a 23-year-old in his own mother's bag to collect insurance money.
According to Denver 7, in 2023, Becky Tesore, a resident of Weld County, and Marian Poeppelmeyer, daughter of a United Flight 629 victim, along with other like-minded people, formed the 629 Memorial and Unsung Heroes Across America Committee to ensure that the Tragedy is not forgotten, to remember the victims, and to pay tribute to the first responders.
The mission hopes to establish a granite memorial in front of what was once the Stapleton Control Tower by November 1, 2025, on the 70th anniversary of the United Flight 629 bomb attack. The mission has also planned a symposium and a memorial dinner on Oct. 31, as reported by Denver Post.
Details on the United Flight 629 Attack
According to the Denver 7 article, on November 1, 1955, United Flight 629 was scheduled to fly from Denver to Portland, Oregon. The flight, filled with passengers and the crew, took off from Stapleton Airport around 6:52 p.m.
But, just about eleven minutes after the takeoff, the witnesses from Stapleton Control Tower and areas near the beet fields saw an explosion. That was Flight 629 exploding because of what was later revealed to be a homemade bomb.
The remains of the exploded flight fell into the Weld County beet fields, and though first responders reached the scene quickly, there wasn't anything anybody could do. The explosion did not leave any survivors, with all 44 on board dead.
On November 7, 1955, after a detailed examination of the plane revealed no fault with the plane parts, the FBI launched an investigation. It didn't take the investigators long to direct their investigation toward the flight's cargo. According to reports, the evidence the police retrieved from the field was what led them to the suspect.
The mastermind behind the explosion was John "Jack" Gilbert Graham, the son of a female passenger on the plane. According to the Denver Post, Graham sneaked in the homemade bomb (25 sticks of dynamite along with blasting caps and timer) inside his mother's luggage. He did this to claim insurance money after his mother's death.
Just before seeing off his mother on the plane, 23-year-old Graham had used a vending machine at the airport to take out an insurance policy worth $37,500 under his mother’s name (Daisie E. King) and listed himself as the beneficiary. According to the FBI, Graham confessed his crime when presented with the evidence.
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The case was quickly brought to trial and became the first televised trial in Colorado. Although during the trial, Graham accused the FBI of coercing the confession, he was held guilty.
On May 5, 1956, a jury found Graham guilty after 69 minutes of deliberation. On January 11, 1957, Graham was executed in the Colorado State Penitentiary’s gas chamber.
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