1943 — Dec 22, USAAF B-24H takeoff crash 3M NW Morrison Field, West Palm Beach FL–14
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-19-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 14 Kleinberg, E. “The Forgotten 14: A story never told.” Palm Beach Post, FL. 5-26-2022.
— 14 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 622.
— 14 Titusville Herald, PA. “Erie Army Flier Dies, 14th Victim of Crash.” 12-24-1943, p. 1.
— 12 Titusville Herald, PA. “12 Army Fliers Killed, Erie Man is Injured.” 12-23-1943, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 0205 EWT, a Consolidated B-24H [41-28632] attempting a take-off collided with trees and crashed three miles northwest of Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida, killing ten crewmembers and four passengers. The airplane was taking off on a ferry mission to the European War Theater when it collided with treetops about three-quarters of a mile from the end of the northwest runway. The collision apparently caused the failure of at least two engines, the pieces of which were found near the trees. The airplane climbed slightly after the initial impact and, losing power, veered to the left and crashed about three miles from the end of the northwest runway. The B-24 crashed into swampy terrain and exploded violently into flames upon impact, killing several occupants instantly and scattering wreckage, bodies and body parts over an area of 500 feet.” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 622.)
Kleinberg, Eliot. “The Forgotten 14: A story never told.” Palm Beach Post, FL. 5-26-2022:
“On Dec. 22, 1943, the Army Air Corps sent 14 flyboys to a ‘secret’ destination in a bomber that took off from what is now PBIA. Minutes later, a fiery crash took their lives. But they got scant attention in the press, until 70 years later, when a Post reporter stumbled across the story and set out to tell their tale.
“Three days before Christmas in 1943, two hours past midnight, 14 men climbed into an airplane and lifted into the dark sky over the slumbering hamlet of West Palm Beach. Their journey lasted but a few moments, and killed every one of them.
“The crash is believed to represent the largest loss of life in a single incident at what is now Palm Beach International Airport. And you never heard of it.
“At the time, The Palm Beach Post reported it in a five-paragraph story on the front page, beneath a list of Christmas events. Then even briefer follow-up stories the next two days. Then nothing….
“…there’s a special sadness in people dying in near anonymity. The stories of the 14 had been small for two reasons. First, the government had directed America’s press to play down bad stories. It was hard enough to keep morale high in South Florida, where people could stand on the beach and watch black smoke from dozens of freighters sunk by U-boats. And, well, this crash wasn’t that big a deal. By the dozens, brave boys — and, yes, girls — were dying every day.
“But of course, it was a big deal. It is a big deal. The 14, whose deaths a reporter would stumble across seven decades later, were fathers and brothers and sons. Their faces beamed with hope and pride, in their neatly pressed dress uniforms, black-and-white studio portraits tinted with pastel hues. They dreamed the way we all do….” [Goes on to give bios of the fatalities.}
Crew:
Samuel Gerald, Dean, 27, pilot, of Helena, MT, married to Louise Amelia Svensson.
Edward Joseph Wolbers, 26, co-pilot, Loveland OH.
Radamés E. Cáceres, 21, navigator, Cagbo Rojo, Puerto Rico.
Douglas Laurent Dauphin, 22, bombardier, St. Claire Shores, MI, married to Henrietta.
Bert Garland Sauls Jr., 20, master gunner, Mango, FL, married to Martha Waggoner.
Kenneth N. Markle, S/Sgt. radioman, 25, Middletown, NY.
Louis Karp, 25, artillery gunner, Bronx, NY.
James Henry ‘Jim’ Henderson, 21, artillery gunner, Big Foot, TX.
Douglas Vincent Schmoker, 20, artillery gunner, LaMoure, ND.
Howard George Sewell, 19, turret gunner, Erie, PA.
Passengers
George M. ‘Pud’ Durrett, 22, West Point, MS.
Robert H. Watson, 22, Lt. Fresno, CA.
Harold Edwin Richards, 25, Elmwood, NB, married to Verna Faye Miller.
James Dixon ‘Big Jim’ Fore, 22, Whiteville, NC, married to Theo Alcott Roberts.
“Bert Sauls’ family says he called home just before the flight left and told an aunt he was worried: “We’ll never make it. We’re overloaded.”
“At 2 a.m., the B-24H came off the 7,000-foot northwest runway, the same one used today. A crash report later described the engines, load and takeoff as normal. About three-fourths of a mile after it cleared the end of the runway, the plane struck the tops of three or four Australian pines. Parts of the engines later were found at the base of the trees. The plane veered left and came down three miles from the runway. It briefly bounced off the ground, then crashed in a cow pasture that today would be north of Belvedere Road and halfway between Haverhill and Drexel roads. Then, the full fuel tanks exploded into flames….
“On Dec. 29, the crash report was complete. The conclusion: The plane “failed to attain sufficient attitude” to clear the trees. The reason: “unable to determine.”
Newspapers
Dec 22, Associated Press: “West Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 22. – (AP) – Twelve Army flyers were killed and two injured in the crash of a bomber near here today. The commanding officer at Morrison Field said the injured included: Staff Sgt. Howard O. Sewell, Erie, Pa.
“Morrison Field said the four-motored bomber was on a training flight. It struck with an explosion that shook windows for more than a mile.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “12 Army Fliers Killed, Erie Man is Injured.” 12-23-1943, p. 1.)
Dec 23, Associated Press: “West Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 23. – (AP) – Staff Sgt. Howard G. Sewell of Erie, Pa., last survivor among 14 men aboard a big Army bomber which crashed near here, died of his injuries today. Twelve officers and men were killed, and the navigator, Lt. Radames E. Cagares of Caber Rojo, Puerto Rico, succumbed last night. The plane struck in a field about 2 a. m. yesterday with a crash audible for more than a mile.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “Erie Army Flier Dies, 14th Victim of Crash.” 12-24-1943, p. 1.)
Sources
Kleinberg, Eliot. “The Forgotten 14: A story never told.” Palm Beach Post, FL. 5-26-2022. Accessed 4-19-2024 at: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2014/05/25/forgotten-14-story-never-told/5914952007/
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 2: July 1943 – July 1944). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.
Titusville Herald, PA. “12 Army Fliers Killed, Erie Man is Injured.” 12-23-1943, p. 1. Accessed 10-12-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=106027362
Titusville Herald, PA. “Erie Army Flier Dies, 14th Victim of Crash.” 12-24-1943, p. 1. Accessed 10-12-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=106027367