B-24E, serial number 42-64397, crashed October 15, 1943

Summary: Based out of Blythe Army Airfield on the Arizona-California border, this B-24 was cleared for a routine navigational training flight at night with a combat-ready crew. Twenty minutes into the flight, the pilot radioed in that he was having engine trouble and needed to land immediately. He was granted permission, and the tower stopped all other traffic. Two minutes later, the pilot voiced a transmission the tower could not understand, then the tower personnel saw a ball of flame as the plane hit the mountain.

When I first hiked to this site, I was taken back by how barren and steep the terrain was. I started coming into wreckage in a wash a good quarter-mile from the actual impact point. The plane hit at the top of a near-vertical face. While all the large parts have been removed, many smaller parts and a large burn area were left. I was amazed to find a dogtag and gold Army Air Force ring within a few minutes. A later search would provide another six rings, gunners wings, navigators stopwatch, wristwatches, and other personal items.

I began my research to locate next of kin, and was fortunate to have contacted a number of them. One of the items I found was a dogtag belonging to radio operator, Lewis Buess. In 2004, I was fortunate enough to track down his 87 year-old sister and return her brother's dogtag. Lewis came from Ohio, and of the seven siblings he had, only two remain alive, and both sisters were delighted to have something from their brother so long after the crash.

I was able to connect with relatives of flight engineer Paul College, and return his Greencastle, Pennsylvania high school class ring. The ring now sits on display in the VFW Hall in Greencastle, PA.

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