Upham was Commanding Officer of the 492nd Bomb Group from December 17, 1944 until taking command of the 306th which remained in Europe after the war ended for duty on the “Casey Jones” Project to map Europe using aerial photos. His command of the 306th ended in May 1946.

His final duties was with the European Air Transport Service Headquarters at Weisbaden during the U,S, Military Occupation of Germany after the war ended.

On November 1, 1946, Col Upham was piloting B-17 43-39338 that took off from Capodichino Air Base in Naples, Italy at 2 a.m. on a transport mission to Bovingdon, England. Despite the severe threat of thunderstorms along their flight path, Upham decided to fly anyway. Only one routine radio message was received shortly after takeoff. The aircraft had crashed into the mountainside of the Aiguille-des-Glaciers, killing all aboard.

He is buried at Arrington National Cemetery.