Belle Isle Salt Mine Disaster Memorial - Franklin, LA
N 29° 48.478 W 091° 32.249
15R E 641334 N 3298404
Memorial is located at the US Highway 90 tourist information center, outside of Franklin. Dedicated to the 21 men who lost thier lives in the 1968 mining disaster.
Waymark Code: WM7R7N
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 11/25/2009
Views: 5
Memorial is located at the tourist center off of Hwy 90, (future I-49) in southern Louisiana. Also, completed in 2008, was the grave site restoration of 8 of the miners.
LINK 1 Link 2 Newspaper Article LinkThe memorial stone reads
BELLE ISLE SALT MINE MEMORIAL
On March 5, 1968 fire broke out in the Belle Isle Salt Mine in St. Mary Parish. Twenty one men were trapped 1200 feet underground with their only escape engulfed in flames. Coal miners from Kentucky flew in to help with the attempted rescue. It was not to be. This memorial is dedicated to these twenty one mew who lost thier lives, to the rescue men who risked their lives, to the other miners who died at Belle Isle and to all the families who suffered loss.
Gone....but not forgotten.
In Their Memory----March 14, 1998
Other side lists the miners
1968
CLIFFORD JAMES BENOIT.
MICHAEL JOSEPH BOUDREAUX.
LUKE MILTON BOUTTE.
ROY P. BYRON.
JOHN HENRY CHRISTENSEN, JR.
LOUIS ROY FRILOT.
PAUL J. C. GRANGER.
WILBUR GARFIELD JENKINS.
MINOS J. LANGLINAIS, JR.
ALCIDE OLIVIER, JR.
DALLAS ANATOLE OLIVIER.
ARTHUR J. OLIVIER, JR.
PERCY JOSEPH PELTIER.
HILTON JOSEPH PRIMEAUX.
DENNIS T. ROMERO.
LEROY SANCHEZ.
BURNICE HOMER SMITH.
HARRIS JOSEPH TOUCHET.
HARRY JOSEPH TOUCHET.
LEROY TRAHAN.
CHESTER JOSEPH VICE
1979
PAUL RICHARD COLLINS
DONALD MAYON, SR.
AMEDEE CHARLES OLIVIER
ADAM SAMPAY
HERMAN ZIMMERMAN
VARIOUS YEARS
JOSEPH M. CULTER - 1969
EARL DENNIS SCHANNETTE - 1969
WILSON JONES - 1974
RIGSBY BABINEAUX - 1975
DAVID MARKS, JR - 1981