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Event

First medical evacuation by Beaver Island emergency aircraft, 1974

Also 1974 first Beaver medical flight · evacuation of Lillian Gallagher

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeEvent
Date1974-06-18
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Event
Date
1974-06-18
Kind
Medical
Where
Beaver Island Airport
Participants
Lillian Bridget “Lil” Gallagher (patient) · Jim Janda (pilot) · William Wilke (pilot) · Joseph W. Christie (physician)
Carried out by
The Beaver
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communityheritage
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

On June 18, 1974, the Beaver Island emergency aircraft made its first reported medical evacuation flight. James Janda and William Wilke flew Mrs. John (Lillian) Gallagher from the island at 8:45 p.m. after Dr. Joseph Christie ordered evacuation for a severe nasal hemorrhage; she continued by ground transport from Harbor Springs Airport to Little Traverse Hospital.

Evidence and limits

The newspaper establishes the date, flight, named people, reported medical reason, and transfer sequence. It does not provide a diagnosis, hospital chart, aircraft registration, exact runway, or full pilot/medical biography.

See also

Sources

  1. Reports that James Janda and William Wilke flew Mrs. John (Lillian) Gallagher from Beaver Island at 8:45 p.m. on June 18 after Dr. Joseph Christie ordered evacuation for a severe nasal hemorrhage; it gives the Harbor Springs and Little Traverse Hospital transfer but no exact airport or medical record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held eleven-page combined May–June issue scan is paired with the OCR source stored under the archive 1974-05 key and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  3. A later follow-up says Lillian Gallagher was home and doing well after the June 18 evacuation; it supplies no medical record or diagnosis beyond the earlier report.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held eleven-page combined May–June issue scan is paired with the OCR source stored under the archive 1974-05 key and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “First medical evacuation by Beaver Island emergency aircraft, 1974”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/first-medical-evacuation-by-beaver-aircraft-1974/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, May–June 1974, “Makes First ‘Evacuation’ and Then Second Within One Week.” (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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