Page "William Cameron Townsend" Paragraph 18

By 1948 Townsend created the third important corporation tied to SIL: the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service.

Until this point operations were held together shakily only by a jeep and several two-way radios provided by the U. S. Embassy.

A U. S. Army Air Corp Mission pilot Larry Montgomery contacted Townsend in 1946 offering a Grumman Duck, a navy amphibious plane, for a cheap price.

The plane proved its worth and even served as the sole rescue transport for a crashed Peruvian military plane in 1947, but required far too hefty of an investment to achieve the potential which Townsend envisioned.

Furthermore, a small fleet would require a hangar, runway, mechanics, more pilots, fuel, and parts.

The missing piece was funds.

Townsend sought money successfully by soliciting several wealthy evangelicals including the son and heir of Quaker Oats founder Henry P. Crowell, and thus JAARS was born.