The 1943 Placerville, California B-25 Bomber Crash

[ski3pin]

Here's something very different, but, as I explain in the introduction, it was quite the adventure sleuthing out the details and stories about this historic WWII event in a small town in the heart of California's Mother Lode. The story is posted here -

The 1943 Placerville B-25 Bomber Crash

Tomorrow, Saturday January 29th, is the 79th anniversary of this tragic event.

 

[Gussie]

Wow, what an amazing saga. It's so great that you've kept this event alive.
Plus, that unexpected ending!
"... Rich couldn’t understand all of it, so he carried the words home to his mother, who had grown up in the area and spoke the language. She listened. Then, she explained to Rich that Wesley was saying that the earth had swallowed up men who had dared to fly in the sky and had taken retribution from the white men for the desecration of their sacred burial site."

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Those young men live on in our memories, as long as we say their names and remember them. Thank you for helping keep them alive.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks Monte,what a great story.
Thank you for all the investigating
you did.
Frank

 

[goinoregon]

thx. very interesting. different world back then

 

[Vic Harder]

wow, what a tragedy, and a story very well told!

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Very sad still to this day. Wandering Sagebrush is right…saying their names honors their sacrifice.

I live close to Camarillo Airport (formerly Camarillo AF where there is a B-25 based. The roar of those twin radials always brings me outdoors to watch that magnificent ship pass over.

 

[Missing Link]

Thank you, Mr. Ski for bringing this story to our attention and for the research you have done which commemorates the sacrifices made by the crew of that aircraft.

 

[heinphoto]

Thank you for researching and preserving this piece of history. The ranks of living WWII vets and others who lived through that difficult time are rapidly slipping away and with them the first-hand accounts of that history. It's so cool that you were able to find those "boys" who witnessed the crash and visit the site with them!

 

[ski3pin]

Gussie, thank you for the very kind comment. During my investigation of this crash I encountered many different reactions/responses to my inquiries. Some were, "Why do we even need to be interested or remember?" Rich's story about Wesley was a very eye opening perspective and I'm so glad he choose to share it with me.

Wow, what an amazing saga. It's so great that you've kept this event alive.
Plus, that unexpected ending!
"... Rich couldn’t understand all of it, so he carried the words home to his mother, who had grown up in the area and spoke the language. She listened. Then, she explained to Rich that Wesley was saying that the earth had swallowed up men who had dared to fly in the sky and had taken retribution from the white men for the desecration of their sacred burial site."

 

[ski3pin]

Those young men live on in our memories, as long as we say their names and remember them. Thank you for helping keep them alive.

Thanks for the kind comment, Mr. Sage. It is so moving to touch a story like this and get the real awakening that these men in this crash were far far more than just names in a newspaper article.

 

[ski3pin]

Thanks Monte,what a great story.
Thank you for all the investigating
you did.
Frank

Frank, thanks for the kind words!

thx. very interesting. different world back then

Thanks for the nice comment, and you are sure right about it being a different world back then.

 

[ski3pin]

wow, what a tragedy, and a story very well told!

Thank you, Vic, you are very kind.

 

[ski3pin]

Very sad still to this day. Wandering Sagebrush is right…saying their names honors their sacrifice.

I live close to Camarillo Airport (formerly Camarillo AF where there is a B-25 based. The roar of those twin radials always brings me outdoors to watch that magnificent ship pass over.

MDR, thanks for the nice comment. There were two WWII bomber crashes in this area that I've done extensive research on, this B-25 and an earlier B-17. I'm not an aviator nor do I know much about flying. I remember seeing these old planes still flying in the fifties. When I got involved in these investigations, Julie and I made a trip to an airshow where both ships were on display and we both crawled through them to get a better connection to the crash stories. And yes, they both have very distinctive sounds!

 

[ski3pin]

Thank you, Mr. Ski for bringing this story to our attention and for the research you have done which commemorates the sacrifices made by the crew of that aircraft.

Thank you Missing Link! History needs to be remembered.

 

[ski3pin]

Thank you for researching and preserving this piece of history. The ranks of living WWII vets and others who lived through that difficult time are rapidly slipping away and with them the first-hand accounts of that history. It's so cool that you were able to find those "boys" who witnessed the crash and visit the site with them!

Thanks for your kind comment! WWII was a major turning point in world history and we are seeing the stories and memories drift away. Those "boys" were the highlight of my research. Not only did I get their first hand accounts of the crash, but such a vivid insight into their lives back then.

As I mentioned above, I've researched other historic crashes in this area. Dick and Ed were involved in two others.

 

[Foy]

A very fine and entirely honorable tribute to the members of the flight crew who lost their lives as well as the injured survivors, and indeed all of our WWII veterans.

I think we've discussed WWII era training and transport crashes here before and I recall being absolutely astounded at the number of crashes and the number of casualties. Something like 15,000 incidents and 30,000 fatalities rings a bell, or maybe it was 8,000 incidents and 15,000 fatalities. One thing for sure, it's hard to find an area in the Lower 48 which does not have a crash site in the general vicinity, and many of them were bombers.

Foy

 

[ski3pin]

A very fine and entirely honorable tribute to the members of the flight crew who lost their lives as well as the injured survivors, and indeed all of our WWII veterans.

I think we've discussed WWII era training and transport crashes here before and I recall being absolutely astounded at the number of crashes and the number of casualties. Something like 15,000 incidents and 30,000 fatalities rings a bell, or maybe it was 8,000 incidents and 15,000 fatalities. One thing for sure, it's hard to find an area in the Lower 48 which does not have a crash site in the general vicinity, and many of them were bombers.

Foy

Foy, thanks for the kind comment. Yes, the number of crashes stateside during training are astounding. There are several in western Nevada we've not yet found. Very near here are others I've investigated. I view all of these as hallowed ground and sacrifices for our country.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Yes, one crash and loss of life is too many. These guys were brave souls going up in these planes. It bears keeping in mind that the B-25 was designed barely 30 years after Kitty Hawk. WWII planes were very, very spartan. The reports from the crew describing their relatively short flight give testimony to this. Designed to maximize deadly payload, comfort and crew safety were often of secondary concern as America’s war machine churned out, on average, over 100 planes each day.

 

[Marc]

Thanks for posting that Ski. My father was an 18 year old Radio Operator on a B-17 based out of England during the war. He flew 15 missions before the Nazis surrendered and then went to Germany as part of the occupation force in 1945. He didn't talk much about it but always would answer my questions. What a horrific experience for a young man and to survive the war. Sadly all these Great Hero''s are almost gone, but they should Never be forgotten. They truly were the Greatest Generation.