Glenn Miller’s songs are requested and played on several big band radio stations still today. Find here are some theories surrounding his sudden disappearance.

1. Unraveling the Mysterious Missing of Glenn Miller during World War II
No jazz lover can ever forget Glenn Miller hits like “In The Mood” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo”.
Not only did Miller lead one of the most successful big bands of that time, but he was highly venerated
for his spirit of patriotism and taking an active part in boosting the morale of the American soldiers on
the war front. Glenn Miller went missing when he was at the peak of fame and popularity. The
mysterious missing of this swing legend was one of the reasons why people could never accept swing
music with the same vigor and enthusiasm. So, on 15th December 1944, Glenn Miller was said to have
flown from England to Paris for entertaining the Allied troops. Alas, he was never seen or heard of ever
again! You might have heard several conspiracy theories as background stories on many big band
radio stations, but none knows the truth and it stills remains as unsolved as ever. In this blog, we share
some theories with his fans.
Attacked by Friendly-fire – This widely-circulated myth stemmed from one of the tales told by a
Lancaster pilot in 1984. So, according to the friendly-fire theory, Glenn Miller’s plan was taken down
mistakenly by the British air force bombers that had to release live explosives for a safe landing. Fred
Shaw, the pilot, admitted to having had seen a small plan in his view while dropping live explosives.
After checking the logbook, tallying the dates and timings, and exploring possibilities, the pilot
confirmed that it was Miller’s plane that had been blown by the explosives. However, critics are
reluctant to accept and sense something fishy in this conclusion because they believe Shaw could have
brought the story into the limelight much earlier instead of waiting for so long.
Mechanical problems – Now, there is another school of historians, researchers, and documentary
experts that negates conspiracy theories and emphasizes engine malfunctioning. According to the
reports Miller was flying in the UC-64A Norseman, which already had carburetor issues while flying

2. in chilling temperatures. In these faulty planes, the carburetors would freeze up when flying amid heavy
fog in sub-zero temperatures and ultimately fall on the land. So, it has been assumed since then that
something like this would have happened to Miller’s plane as well. Despite several claims, there is no
strong evidence to show that this was the real reason behind Glenn’s sudden disappearance.
Held captive by the Germans – As an enigmatic personality in the swing and big band music in the
USA, Glenn Miller voluntarily joined the US military to boost the war spirit with music. But, according
to many, Miller had a greater role to play than just being an entertainer for the US army. It was said that
Miller would work as a spy for the government to extract information and even negotiate a peace treaty
with Germany. As he was allegedly considered to be involved in espionage activities, many concluded
that Miller could have been held captive by the Germans. But, once again, there is not enough evidence
to prove the authenticity of this story or conspiracy theory.
Death due to cancer – Now, this theory was put forward by Herb, Miller’s bother who said the
bandleader suffered from lung cancer and could have died due to it. It was said that Miller and his
brother exchanged letters wherein the former would mention his deteriorating health condition due to
cancer. According to his brother, Miller fabricated the story of the plane crash to hide from people and
his fans that he was dying miserably from cancer. Although reports have proven that Miller was sick
while performing in England, there is no proof to substantiate the theory around his death and
disappearance.
Final Thoughts – Despite these theories going rounds, we cannot take most of them at face value due
to lack of concrete evidence. All that we can deduce is that a probable plane crash killed our beloved
big band leader, Glenn Miller. Even though his disappearance remains a mystery, we can still enjoy his
music on the big band radio station in the USA. Do you want to listen to his classic scores? Tune into
Swing Street Radio now!
Read the full article: https://swingstreetradio.mystrikingly.com/blog/unraveling-the-
mysterious-missing-of-glenn-miller-during-world-war-ii
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