El Paso Herald-Post
El Paso, TX
March 24, 1944
SEVEN KILLED IN CRASH OF BIGGS PLANE
Seven Biggs Field fliers were killed at 10:45 o'clock last night when a B-24 Bomber crashed on Mt. Franklin.
The crash was approximately half way up the mountain opposite Memphis street.
When the bomber hit the mountain there was a sound like that of a great explosion far in the distance. Windows in a wide area shook and residents were awakened.
The plane burst into flames that rose as high as 100 feet, lightly Northeast El Paso brightly. People rushed outdoors. Scores of automobiles speeded to the mountain road below the plane wreckage, which was flaming over a wide area. It was easy to see that all in the plane must be dead; that there could be no escape from so great a fire.
The Dead:
...2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mrs. Clara R. Fricke, Indianapolis, Ind....
The Fire Department answered scores of calls. Fire engines rumbled to the mountain road, with sirens screaming. Army forces appeared, including the Biggs Field crash crew and members of of the Medical Corps. They found the roads blocked by civilian vehicles. Police directed traffic.
The plane burned brightly for about 15 minutes. Then flames slowly died. Within an hour there was only a glow here and there. Then darkness hid the wreckage.
It was a tough climb up the mountain for the Army crews. The crash occurred behind a canyon that lies back of the Austin High School "A".
Identity of the fliers was not established until daylight.
Biggs Field officials are investigating.
The plane crashed following a take-off from Biggs Field. Whether it failed to gain altitude or whether it dived down for some reason after gaining enough altitude to clear the mountain, Biggs Field officials would not say. Causes of crashes are military secrets.
No one was found who saw the plane crashing.
"It hit and there is was, a mass of flames," said one investigator.
Today the mountain was marked by two black lines, where the plane had burned.
It was the third crash of a Biggs Field plane in a week. Dead in the three accidents total 26.
----------
Decatur Daily Democrat
Adams County, Indiana
Saturday, March 25, 1944
LT. BENJAMIN FRICKE KILLED IN AIR CRASH
Native of Decatur Is Killed In Texas
Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, 21, a native of Decatur, was killed in the crash of a B-24 army bomber near El Paso, Texas, Thursday night, friends here have been informed.
Lt. Fricke, co-pilot on the bomber, was one of seven airmen killed in the crash, which occurred during a routine training flight.
The young lieutenant was born in Decatur February 8, 1923, the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Fricke, who now reside in Indianapolis. The lad's father was employed by the old Holland-St. Louis Sugar company, and later was active in farm bureau circles in Adams county and throughout the state.
Benjamin Fricke graduated from Shortridge high school, Indianapolis, and was a student at Purdue university when he entered service in February, 1943. He was commissioned at the Fort Worth, Tex., air base on January 7 of this year.
Lt. Fricke is survived by the parents, three brothers: Maj. Wilbur Fricke and Sgt. Harold Fricke, both of the South Pacific, and seaman first class Lawrence Fricke, in training at the V-5 program at DePauw university; and five sisters: Mrs. Melvin Habegger of Berne, Mrs. Simeron K. Bell of New York, Mrs. Ed Hohit and Miss Patricia Fricke, both of Indianapolis, and Miss Doris Fricke, a TWA hostess.
The body will be returned to Indianapolis for funeral services. Arrangements have not been completed.
Handwritten-Wed. May 3, 1944
Memorial Service Held at Spot in Texas Where Lt. Ben Fricke and Crew Died
A memorial service was held last Sunday on the mountain side at El Paso, Texas, for the Army airmen who lost their lives in a crash of a Flying Fortress on Thursday, March, 23, among whom was Second Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Fricke of Indianapolis and of brother of Mrs. Melvin Habegger of this place. The parents of Lt. Fricke made an effort to attend the memorial, during which a metal cross was erected, marking the spot of the crash. The Fricke's, however, were unable to procure either a train or plane reservations and were then unable to attend.
A double funeral service was held for 2nd Lt. Fricke and 2nd Lt. Robert Spears at the North Methodist Church in Indianapolis, on March ? and on the same day a service was held for Lt. Fricke at the Mennonite Church and burial was made in the M.R.E. Cemetery west of town.
The following item appeared last week in an El Paso newspaper, telling of the plans for the memorial.
Cross to Mark Spot Where Airmen Died
A wooden cross placed on a blackened area on Mt. Franklin, near the scattered parts of an Army bombing plane will be replaced by a six-foot metal cross on April 30. The wooden cross is a one-man tribute to seven men who died in a B-24 plane crash on March 23.
Marcus Uribe, El Paso Public Library janitor, placed the cross there. At the memorial service three Franciscan priests from St. Anthony's Seminary will chant the Litany of the Dead.
Altar boys and girls dress as angels and seven boys dressed as soldiers will be in the procession. Flag bearers carrying Pan-American flags will march. The procession will move from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to the site of the cross.
There, Father Raymundo Garcia, Father Rodolfo Ortega and Father Luis Valderez will bless and dedicate the cross. Holy water will be sprinkled on the names of 1st Lieut. Lyle R. Jensen, of Big Springs, Nebraska; 2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, Indianapolis, Indiana; 2nd Lieut. Donald B. Harris, Deming, New Mexico; 2nd Lieut. Robert Spear of Indianapolis, Indiana; Sgt. Richard I. Stoney, Stonehaus, Massachusetts; Sgt. Richard Hinson, Norwood, North Carolina; and Sgt. John H. House, Black River, New York. All died in the crash.
The service will begin at 9:00 a.m., with Requiem Mass in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Work on the new cross begins Sunday. Ramirez Marcelino works on the cross after working hours. He will haul the completed cross from his home to the mountain. The concrete base was placed on the mountain Sunday.
Mr. Uribe each day after work collects money. His black notebook shows monies collected from neighbors, library workers, and the seven children in his family. He will need $400 to pay for the gravel, metal and lumber. Mr. Uribe was asleep in his home when the plane smashed into the mountain and burst into flames. He lives less than a mile from the scene of the accident.
The next day he joined spectators who viewed the charred wreckage of the place. A little boy poking in the ashes found an Air Corps ring which was turned over to the Red Cross. The memorial is Mr. Uribe's contribution to the war.
He said, "When I fixed the first cross on the mountain, at the time I was thinking new things that could be written on it like "TO THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO KEEP A COUNTRY FREE."
Adams County, Indiana Historical Museum "1944 Jan-Oct" Scrapbook Image 47
(Contributed by Janice Vasilovski)
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) • [email protected]
El Paso, TX
March 24, 1944
SEVEN KILLED IN CRASH OF BIGGS PLANE
Seven Biggs Field fliers were killed at 10:45 o'clock last night when a B-24 Bomber crashed on Mt. Franklin.
The crash was approximately half way up the mountain opposite Memphis street.
When the bomber hit the mountain there was a sound like that of a great explosion far in the distance. Windows in a wide area shook and residents were awakened.
The plane burst into flames that rose as high as 100 feet, lightly Northeast El Paso brightly. People rushed outdoors. Scores of automobiles speeded to the mountain road below the plane wreckage, which was flaming over a wide area. It was easy to see that all in the plane must be dead; that there could be no escape from so great a fire.
The Dead:
...2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mrs. Clara R. Fricke, Indianapolis, Ind....
The Fire Department answered scores of calls. Fire engines rumbled to the mountain road, with sirens screaming. Army forces appeared, including the Biggs Field crash crew and members of of the Medical Corps. They found the roads blocked by civilian vehicles. Police directed traffic.
The plane burned brightly for about 15 minutes. Then flames slowly died. Within an hour there was only a glow here and there. Then darkness hid the wreckage.
It was a tough climb up the mountain for the Army crews. The crash occurred behind a canyon that lies back of the Austin High School "A".
Identity of the fliers was not established until daylight.
Biggs Field officials are investigating.
The plane crashed following a take-off from Biggs Field. Whether it failed to gain altitude or whether it dived down for some reason after gaining enough altitude to clear the mountain, Biggs Field officials would not say. Causes of crashes are military secrets.
No one was found who saw the plane crashing.
"It hit and there is was, a mass of flames," said one investigator.
Today the mountain was marked by two black lines, where the plane had burned.
It was the third crash of a Biggs Field plane in a week. Dead in the three accidents total 26.
----------
Decatur Daily Democrat
Adams County, Indiana
Saturday, March 25, 1944
LT. BENJAMIN FRICKE KILLED IN AIR CRASH
Native of Decatur Is Killed In Texas
Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, 21, a native of Decatur, was killed in the crash of a B-24 army bomber near El Paso, Texas, Thursday night, friends here have been informed.
Lt. Fricke, co-pilot on the bomber, was one of seven airmen killed in the crash, which occurred during a routine training flight.
The young lieutenant was born in Decatur February 8, 1923, the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Fricke, who now reside in Indianapolis. The lad's father was employed by the old Holland-St. Louis Sugar company, and later was active in farm bureau circles in Adams county and throughout the state.
Benjamin Fricke graduated from Shortridge high school, Indianapolis, and was a student at Purdue university when he entered service in February, 1943. He was commissioned at the Fort Worth, Tex., air base on January 7 of this year.
Lt. Fricke is survived by the parents, three brothers: Maj. Wilbur Fricke and Sgt. Harold Fricke, both of the South Pacific, and seaman first class Lawrence Fricke, in training at the V-5 program at DePauw university; and five sisters: Mrs. Melvin Habegger of Berne, Mrs. Simeron K. Bell of New York, Mrs. Ed Hohit and Miss Patricia Fricke, both of Indianapolis, and Miss Doris Fricke, a TWA hostess.
The body will be returned to Indianapolis for funeral services. Arrangements have not been completed.
Handwritten-Wed. May 3, 1944
Memorial Service Held at Spot in Texas Where Lt. Ben Fricke and Crew Died
A memorial service was held last Sunday on the mountain side at El Paso, Texas, for the Army airmen who lost their lives in a crash of a Flying Fortress on Thursday, March, 23, among whom was Second Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Fricke of Indianapolis and of brother of Mrs. Melvin Habegger of this place. The parents of Lt. Fricke made an effort to attend the memorial, during which a metal cross was erected, marking the spot of the crash. The Fricke's, however, were unable to procure either a train or plane reservations and were then unable to attend.
A double funeral service was held for 2nd Lt. Fricke and 2nd Lt. Robert Spears at the North Methodist Church in Indianapolis, on March ? and on the same day a service was held for Lt. Fricke at the Mennonite Church and burial was made in the M.R.E. Cemetery west of town.
The following item appeared last week in an El Paso newspaper, telling of the plans for the memorial.
Cross to Mark Spot Where Airmen Died
A wooden cross placed on a blackened area on Mt. Franklin, near the scattered parts of an Army bombing plane will be replaced by a six-foot metal cross on April 30. The wooden cross is a one-man tribute to seven men who died in a B-24 plane crash on March 23.
Marcus Uribe, El Paso Public Library janitor, placed the cross there. At the memorial service three Franciscan priests from St. Anthony's Seminary will chant the Litany of the Dead.
Altar boys and girls dress as angels and seven boys dressed as soldiers will be in the procession. Flag bearers carrying Pan-American flags will march. The procession will move from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to the site of the cross.
There, Father Raymundo Garcia, Father Rodolfo Ortega and Father Luis Valderez will bless and dedicate the cross. Holy water will be sprinkled on the names of 1st Lieut. Lyle R. Jensen, of Big Springs, Nebraska; 2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, Indianapolis, Indiana; 2nd Lieut. Donald B. Harris, Deming, New Mexico; 2nd Lieut. Robert Spear of Indianapolis, Indiana; Sgt. Richard I. Stoney, Stonehaus, Massachusetts; Sgt. Richard Hinson, Norwood, North Carolina; and Sgt. John H. House, Black River, New York. All died in the crash.
The service will begin at 9:00 a.m., with Requiem Mass in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Work on the new cross begins Sunday. Ramirez Marcelino works on the cross after working hours. He will haul the completed cross from his home to the mountain. The concrete base was placed on the mountain Sunday.
Mr. Uribe each day after work collects money. His black notebook shows monies collected from neighbors, library workers, and the seven children in his family. He will need $400 to pay for the gravel, metal and lumber. Mr. Uribe was asleep in his home when the plane smashed into the mountain and burst into flames. He lives less than a mile from the scene of the accident.
The next day he joined spectators who viewed the charred wreckage of the place. A little boy poking in the ashes found an Air Corps ring which was turned over to the Red Cross. The memorial is Mr. Uribe's contribution to the war.
He said, "When I fixed the first cross on the mountain, at the time I was thinking new things that could be written on it like "TO THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO KEEP A COUNTRY FREE."
Adams County, Indiana Historical Museum "1944 Jan-Oct" Scrapbook Image 47
(Contributed by Janice Vasilovski)
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) • [email protected]
El Paso Herald-Post
El Paso, TX
March 24, 1944
SEVEN KILLED IN CRASH OF BIGGS PLANE
Seven Biggs Field fliers were killed at 10:45 o'clock last night when a B-24 Bomber crashed on Mt. Franklin.
The crash was approximately half way up the mountain opposite Memphis street.
When the bomber hit the mountain there was a sound like that of a great explosion far in the distance. Windows in a wide area shook and residents were awakened.
The plane burst into flames that rose as high as 100 feet, lightly Northeast El Paso brightly. People rushed outdoors. Scores of automobiles speeded to the mountain road below the plane wreckage, which was flaming over a wide area. It was easy to see that all in the plane must be dead; that there could be no escape from so great a fire.
The Dead:
...2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mrs. Clara R. Fricke, Indianapolis, Ind....
The Fire Department answered scores of calls. Fire engines rumbled to the mountain road, with sirens screaming. Army forces appeared, including the Biggs Field crash crew and members of of the Medical Corps. They found the roads blocked by civilian vehicles. Police directed traffic.
The plane burned brightly for about 15 minutes. Then flames slowly died. Within an hour there was only a glow here and there. Then darkness hid the wreckage.
It was a tough climb up the mountain for the Army crews. The crash occurred behind a canyon that lies back of the Austin High School "A".
Identity of the fliers was not established until daylight.
Biggs Field officials are investigating.
The plane crashed following a take-off from Biggs Field. Whether it failed to gain altitude or whether it dived down for some reason after gaining enough altitude to clear the mountain, Biggs Field officials would not say. Causes of crashes are military secrets.
No one was found who saw the plane crashing.
"It hit and there is was, a mass of flames," said one investigator.
Today the mountain was marked by two black lines, where the plane had burned.
It was the third crash of a Biggs Field plane in a week. Dead in the three accidents total 26.
----------
Decatur Daily Democrat
Adams County, Indiana
Saturday, March 25, 1944
LT. BENJAMIN FRICKE KILLED IN AIR CRASH
Native of Decatur Is Killed In Texas
Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, 21, a native of Decatur, was killed in the crash of a B-24 army bomber near El Paso, Texas, Thursday night, friends here have been informed.
Lt. Fricke, co-pilot on the bomber, was one of seven airmen killed in the crash, which occurred during a routine training flight.
The young lieutenant was born in Decatur February 8, 1923, the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Fricke, who now reside in Indianapolis. The lad's father was employed by the old Holland-St. Louis Sugar company, and later was active in farm bureau circles in Adams county and throughout the state.
Benjamin Fricke graduated from Shortridge high school, Indianapolis, and was a student at Purdue university when he entered service in February, 1943. He was commissioned at the Fort Worth, Tex., air base on January 7 of this year.
Lt. Fricke is survived by the parents, three brothers: Maj. Wilbur Fricke and Sgt. Harold Fricke, both of the South Pacific, and seaman first class Lawrence Fricke, in training at the V-5 program at DePauw university; and five sisters: Mrs. Melvin Habegger of Berne, Mrs. Simeron K. Bell of New York, Mrs. Ed Hohit and Miss Patricia Fricke, both of Indianapolis, and Miss Doris Fricke, a TWA hostess.
The body will be returned to Indianapolis for funeral services. Arrangements have not been completed.
Handwritten-Wed. May 3, 1944
Memorial Service Held at Spot in Texas Where Lt. Ben Fricke and Crew Died
A memorial service was held last Sunday on the mountain side at El Paso, Texas, for the Army airmen who lost their lives in a crash of a Flying Fortress on Thursday, March, 23, among whom was Second Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Fricke of Indianapolis and of brother of Mrs. Melvin Habegger of this place. The parents of Lt. Fricke made an effort to attend the memorial, during which a metal cross was erected, marking the spot of the crash. The Fricke's, however, were unable to procure either a train or plane reservations and were then unable to attend.
A double funeral service was held for 2nd Lt. Fricke and 2nd Lt. Robert Spears at the North Methodist Church in Indianapolis, on March ? and on the same day a service was held for Lt. Fricke at the Mennonite Church and burial was made in the M.R.E. Cemetery west of town.
The following item appeared last week in an El Paso newspaper, telling of the plans for the memorial.
Cross to Mark Spot Where Airmen Died
A wooden cross placed on a blackened area on Mt. Franklin, near the scattered parts of an Army bombing plane will be replaced by a six-foot metal cross on April 30. The wooden cross is a one-man tribute to seven men who died in a B-24 plane crash on March 23.
Marcus Uribe, El Paso Public Library janitor, placed the cross there. At the memorial service three Franciscan priests from St. Anthony's Seminary will chant the Litany of the Dead.
Altar boys and girls dress as angels and seven boys dressed as soldiers will be in the procession. Flag bearers carrying Pan-American flags will march. The procession will move from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to the site of the cross.
There, Father Raymundo Garcia, Father Rodolfo Ortega and Father Luis Valderez will bless and dedicate the cross. Holy water will be sprinkled on the names of 1st Lieut. Lyle R. Jensen, of Big Springs, Nebraska; 2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, Indianapolis, Indiana; 2nd Lieut. Donald B. Harris, Deming, New Mexico; 2nd Lieut. Robert Spear of Indianapolis, Indiana; Sgt. Richard I. Stoney, Stonehaus, Massachusetts; Sgt. Richard Hinson, Norwood, North Carolina; and Sgt. John H. House, Black River, New York. All died in the crash.
The service will begin at 9:00 a.m., with Requiem Mass in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Work on the new cross begins Sunday. Ramirez Marcelino works on the cross after working hours. He will haul the completed cross from his home to the mountain. The concrete base was placed on the mountain Sunday.
Mr. Uribe each day after work collects money. His black notebook shows monies collected from neighbors, library workers, and the seven children in his family. He will need $400 to pay for the gravel, metal and lumber. Mr. Uribe was asleep in his home when the plane smashed into the mountain and burst into flames. He lives less than a mile from the scene of the accident.
The next day he joined spectators who viewed the charred wreckage of the place. A little boy poking in the ashes found an Air Corps ring which was turned over to the Red Cross. The memorial is Mr. Uribe's contribution to the war.
He said, "When I fixed the first cross on the mountain, at the time I was thinking new things that could be written on it like "TO THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO KEEP A COUNTRY FREE."
Adams County, Indiana Historical Museum "1944 Jan-Oct" Scrapbook Image 47
(Contributed by Janice Vasilovski)
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) • [email protected]
El Paso, TX
March 24, 1944
SEVEN KILLED IN CRASH OF BIGGS PLANE
Seven Biggs Field fliers were killed at 10:45 o'clock last night when a B-24 Bomber crashed on Mt. Franklin.
The crash was approximately half way up the mountain opposite Memphis street.
When the bomber hit the mountain there was a sound like that of a great explosion far in the distance. Windows in a wide area shook and residents were awakened.
The plane burst into flames that rose as high as 100 feet, lightly Northeast El Paso brightly. People rushed outdoors. Scores of automobiles speeded to the mountain road below the plane wreckage, which was flaming over a wide area. It was easy to see that all in the plane must be dead; that there could be no escape from so great a fire.
The Dead:
...2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mrs. Clara R. Fricke, Indianapolis, Ind....
The Fire Department answered scores of calls. Fire engines rumbled to the mountain road, with sirens screaming. Army forces appeared, including the Biggs Field crash crew and members of of the Medical Corps. They found the roads blocked by civilian vehicles. Police directed traffic.
The plane burned brightly for about 15 minutes. Then flames slowly died. Within an hour there was only a glow here and there. Then darkness hid the wreckage.
It was a tough climb up the mountain for the Army crews. The crash occurred behind a canyon that lies back of the Austin High School "A".
Identity of the fliers was not established until daylight.
Biggs Field officials are investigating.
The plane crashed following a take-off from Biggs Field. Whether it failed to gain altitude or whether it dived down for some reason after gaining enough altitude to clear the mountain, Biggs Field officials would not say. Causes of crashes are military secrets.
No one was found who saw the plane crashing.
"It hit and there is was, a mass of flames," said one investigator.
Today the mountain was marked by two black lines, where the plane had burned.
It was the third crash of a Biggs Field plane in a week. Dead in the three accidents total 26.
----------
Decatur Daily Democrat
Adams County, Indiana
Saturday, March 25, 1944
LT. BENJAMIN FRICKE KILLED IN AIR CRASH
Native of Decatur Is Killed In Texas
Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, 21, a native of Decatur, was killed in the crash of a B-24 army bomber near El Paso, Texas, Thursday night, friends here have been informed.
Lt. Fricke, co-pilot on the bomber, was one of seven airmen killed in the crash, which occurred during a routine training flight.
The young lieutenant was born in Decatur February 8, 1923, the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Fricke, who now reside in Indianapolis. The lad's father was employed by the old Holland-St. Louis Sugar company, and later was active in farm bureau circles in Adams county and throughout the state.
Benjamin Fricke graduated from Shortridge high school, Indianapolis, and was a student at Purdue university when he entered service in February, 1943. He was commissioned at the Fort Worth, Tex., air base on January 7 of this year.
Lt. Fricke is survived by the parents, three brothers: Maj. Wilbur Fricke and Sgt. Harold Fricke, both of the South Pacific, and seaman first class Lawrence Fricke, in training at the V-5 program at DePauw university; and five sisters: Mrs. Melvin Habegger of Berne, Mrs. Simeron K. Bell of New York, Mrs. Ed Hohit and Miss Patricia Fricke, both of Indianapolis, and Miss Doris Fricke, a TWA hostess.
The body will be returned to Indianapolis for funeral services. Arrangements have not been completed.
Handwritten-Wed. May 3, 1944
Memorial Service Held at Spot in Texas Where Lt. Ben Fricke and Crew Died
A memorial service was held last Sunday on the mountain side at El Paso, Texas, for the Army airmen who lost their lives in a crash of a Flying Fortress on Thursday, March, 23, among whom was Second Lieutenant Benjamin C. Fricke, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Fricke of Indianapolis and of brother of Mrs. Melvin Habegger of this place. The parents of Lt. Fricke made an effort to attend the memorial, during which a metal cross was erected, marking the spot of the crash. The Fricke's, however, were unable to procure either a train or plane reservations and were then unable to attend.
A double funeral service was held for 2nd Lt. Fricke and 2nd Lt. Robert Spears at the North Methodist Church in Indianapolis, on March ? and on the same day a service was held for Lt. Fricke at the Mennonite Church and burial was made in the M.R.E. Cemetery west of town.
The following item appeared last week in an El Paso newspaper, telling of the plans for the memorial.
Cross to Mark Spot Where Airmen Died
A wooden cross placed on a blackened area on Mt. Franklin, near the scattered parts of an Army bombing plane will be replaced by a six-foot metal cross on April 30. The wooden cross is a one-man tribute to seven men who died in a B-24 plane crash on March 23.
Marcus Uribe, El Paso Public Library janitor, placed the cross there. At the memorial service three Franciscan priests from St. Anthony's Seminary will chant the Litany of the Dead.
Altar boys and girls dress as angels and seven boys dressed as soldiers will be in the procession. Flag bearers carrying Pan-American flags will march. The procession will move from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to the site of the cross.
There, Father Raymundo Garcia, Father Rodolfo Ortega and Father Luis Valderez will bless and dedicate the cross. Holy water will be sprinkled on the names of 1st Lieut. Lyle R. Jensen, of Big Springs, Nebraska; 2nd Lieut. Benjamin C. Fricke, Indianapolis, Indiana; 2nd Lieut. Donald B. Harris, Deming, New Mexico; 2nd Lieut. Robert Spear of Indianapolis, Indiana; Sgt. Richard I. Stoney, Stonehaus, Massachusetts; Sgt. Richard Hinson, Norwood, North Carolina; and Sgt. John H. House, Black River, New York. All died in the crash.
The service will begin at 9:00 a.m., with Requiem Mass in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Work on the new cross begins Sunday. Ramirez Marcelino works on the cross after working hours. He will haul the completed cross from his home to the mountain. The concrete base was placed on the mountain Sunday.
Mr. Uribe each day after work collects money. His black notebook shows monies collected from neighbors, library workers, and the seven children in his family. He will need $400 to pay for the gravel, metal and lumber. Mr. Uribe was asleep in his home when the plane smashed into the mountain and burst into flames. He lives less than a mile from the scene of the accident.
The next day he joined spectators who viewed the charred wreckage of the place. A little boy poking in the ashes found an Air Corps ring which was turned over to the Red Cross. The memorial is Mr. Uribe's contribution to the war.
He said, "When I fixed the first cross on the mountain, at the time I was thinking new things that could be written on it like "TO THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO KEEP A COUNTRY FREE."
Adams County, Indiana Historical Museum "1944 Jan-Oct" Scrapbook Image 47
(Contributed by Janice Vasilovski)
Contributor: Karin King (47469179) • [email protected]
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