Soldier Creek B-29 Crash Memorial - Marshall Co. Kentucky - Specific Veteran Memorials on Waymarking.com

"On July 1, 1945, A B-29 Superfortress crashed near Soldier Creek Church. Nine men aboard the B-29 lost their lives and one* survived after being thrown from the aircraft and parachuting to safety. This monument shall remain in remembrance of their sacrifice and of those who have served and continue to serve on foreign and domestic soils as ambassadors for our freedom and democracy.

1st Lieutenant Joseph F Arone
Corporal Roy G Berryhill
2nd Lietenant Ward W Copenhaurer
2nd Lietenant Richard o Snow
Flight Officer Eugene M Graham
Sergeant Romold A Kryzan
Sergeant Delmar H Lumberg
Sergeant Arnold A Rushton
Flight Officer James R Schetzsle
Corporal Irving A Elias*

Erected by Marshall County Fiscal Court Sept 7, 2008"



The B-29 was based at Kirtland Air Force in Albuquerque, N. M. and was on a routine flight. It had refueled in Nashville and was on its return flight to Colorado before returning to New Mexico. The four-engine war-plane simply disintegrated and fell from the heavens to the ground near Soldier Creek Baptist Church in Harvey because of an electrical storm at 1:05 a.m., just 45 minutes after refueling in Nashville.

On board this particular plane were four officers and six enlisted men. Only one, Elias, would manage to escape via parachute and live to tell the story. Elias was the plane’s left waist gunner. He had told the Benton Tribune-Democrat on July 2, 1945 that he had just left his post when there was a loud explosion that ripped the plane apart as it was flying through heavy rain and the electrical storm. Elias was in the tail of the aircraft when the explosion happened, and he was thrown clear, opening his parachute and falling nearly 8,000 feet. Upon landing, he took refuge under a bush where he stayed until daybreak. When the sun finally rose, he made his way to the residence of Maxine Bohannon and the late Ernest Bohannon, whom took Elias to the local hospital in Benton, Kentucky.

Before Army officials could arrive and place guards at the scene, hundreds of people had already viewed the wreckage.
Some came out of curiosity, some to grab a souvenir and some to fan the flies from the bodies. Their bodies were eventually taken to Fort Campbell. No one really knows what the purpose of the flight was for the B-29 as it left Albuquerque and was to head through the south, back up through Kentucky and on to Colorado, before returning to New Mexico.

List if there are any visiting hours: Daily, Dark to Dusk Entrance fees (if it applies): None Type of memorial: Monument Website pertaining to the memorial: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/20/2011 trailhound1 visited it